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The Impact of Social Relationships on Peasant Household Economies in Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico

Gayle Barnett

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Development Economics

Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia September 2008

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THANKS to my family who have been a huge support. THANKS to my close friends.

IV TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF FIGURES x

ABSTRACT xii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED xi

GLOSSARY xiv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xvi

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1

Li. RESOURCE GAINED WITH SOCIAL INTERACTION 1

I.i.i. Social Resources as 'Capital' 2

I.i.ii. Socially Embedded Resources Enhance Economic Outcomes 6

I.i.iii. Individual Level Versus Group Level of Social Capital 7

I.ii. RESEARCH SITE: WHAT IS KNOWN OF THESE HOUSEHOLDS? 9

I.ii.i. Approaches of Analysis of Economic Practices 10

I.iii. THE PRESENT STUDY 13

I.iii.i. Questions Addressed in This Study 14

I.iii.ii. Road Map of Thesis 15

CHAPTER II. CONTEXT 17

ILL GENERAL FEATURES OF THE CALAKMUL REGION 17

ILii. SOCIOECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN CALAKMUL 19

Il.iii. HISTORY OF THE CALAKMUL REGION 21

Il.iii.i. Forest Extraction 22 II.iii.ii. Colonization Period

II.iii.iii. Commercial Jalapeno Chili Production 26

II.iii.iv. Conservation Movement 30

Il.iv. BROAD INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT 32

II.v. CURRENT & FUTURE OUTLOOK 34

CHAPTER III. PREVIOUS RESEARCH 37

IILi. BACKGROUND TO ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES IN RURAL ECONOMIES 37

Ill.i.i. Human/Environment Relationship 37

Ill.i.ii. Adaptive Strategies 38

Hl.i.iii. Agrarian Question 39

Ill.ii. STUDY ON FAMILY ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES IN CALAKMUL 42

Ill.ii.i. Calakmul an Opportune Site 42

IH.ii.ii. Typology of Adaptive Strategies 43

III.ii.iii. Nature and Logic of Strategy Type 44

III.ii.iv. Comparative Measures for Strategy Type 47

Ill.ii.v. Summary 51

CHAPTER IV. METHODOLOGY & DATA USAGE 53

IV.i. VISITS TO THE COMMUNITIES 53

IV.ii. CONSTRUCTION OF QUESTIONNAIRE 57

IV.ii.i. Jalapeno Chili Production Process 58

IV.ii.ii. Grounding the Nature of Relationship in Transactions 62

IV.iii. DATA USAGE 69

vi IV.iii.i. Background to Assumptions 69

IV.iii.ii. Ranking of Resources 73

CHAPTER V. RESULTS & DISCUSSION 75

V.i. MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDY SAMPLE 75

V.ii. IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL RELATIONS IN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY 79

V.iii. BENEFITS OF SOCIAL CAPITAL TRANSACTIONS 87

V.iv. MECHANISMS OF SOCIAL RESOURCES 93

V.v. SOCIAL CAPITAL MECHANISM AND RESOURCE ACCESSED 96

V.vi. NATURE OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP AND RESOURCE ACCESSED 102

CHAPTER VI. CONCLUSION 108

BIBLIOGRAPHY 111

APPENDIX It Questionnaire of Social Capital Transactions 121

APPENDIX II: Questionnaire of Household Characteristics 125

APPENDIX III: Field Diary 126

APPENDIX IV: Lessons Learned in the Field 134

Vll LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Services and Infrastructure in Cristobal Colon and Las Carmelas 20

Table 2. Education, Health, Water Services, and Transportation Services in Cristobal

Colon and Las Carmelas 21

Table 3. Relevant Factors for Each Phase in the Jalapeno Chili Production Process 61

Table 4. Ranking of Resources and Income Earning Opportunities 74

Table 5. Number of Participants in Adaptive Strategy Type; Sample Size Compared To

Gurri's Sample and Population Size 75

Table 6. Ethnic Makeup of Adaptive Strategy Groups 76

Table 7. State of Origin Among Participants According To Community and Strategy

Type 76

Table 8. Morphological Characteristics of the Households 78

Table 9. Importance of Social Capital Transactions For ALL the Possible Factors 82

Table 10. Importance of Social Relationships According To RANKED Resources and Income Opportunities 84 Table 11. Benefits of Social Capital Transactions of Resources and Income

Opportunities 88

Table 12. Overall Benefits of Social Capital Transactions 88

Table 13. Types of Social Mechanisms That Bring About the Social Capital Transactions 94

Table 14. Distribution of Social Capital Mechanisms For the Two Strategy Groups When Accessing Resources and Income Opportunities 9 5 Table 15. Distribution of Social Capital Mechanisms Among the Strategy Groups According To RANKED Resources and Income Opportunities 9 7 Table 16. Social Capital Mechanisms According To Type of Engagement and Strategy Type 101 Table 17. Distribution of the WHO Among the Study Sample and Strategy Type 102

viii Table 18. Purpose of Relationship According To WHO 104

Table 19. Purpose of Relationship According To Strategy Type 107 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Map of the Yucatan Peninsula in the Southeastern Region of Mexico 17

Figure 2. Map of the State of Campeche and Its Municipalities 17

Figure 3. Map of the Calakmul Municipality 18

Figure 4. Annual Activities in the Production Process of Jalapeno Chili and the Required

Capital and Labour Inputs 5 8

Figure 5. Resources and Income Opportunities Accessed By Market Type 80

Figure 6. Distribution of Resources and Income Opportunities Accessed In OUTSIDE and CALAKMUL Markets 81 Figure 7. Percentage of Resources and Income Opportunities Accessed By

Social Capital Transactions 81

Figure 8. Distribution of Transaction Type According To Strategy Type 83

Figure 9. Division of Resources and Income Opportunities According To RANK 84

Figure 10. Comparative Results Between Strategy Type and ESSENTIAL Resources and Income Opportunities 85 Figure 11. Comparative Results Between Strategy Type and EXTRA, IMPROVEMENT In Resources and Income Opportunities 86

Figure 12. Distribution of Social Capital Mechanisms Used To Access Resources and Income Opportunities 95

Figure 13. Social Capital Mechanisms For ESSENTIAL Resources and Income Opportunities 98

Figure 14. Social Capital Mechanisms For IMPROVEMENT In Resources and Income

Opportunities 99

Figure 15. Social Capital Mechanisms For EXTRA Resources 99

Figure 16. Social Capital Mechanisms For EXTRA Income Opportunities $ and $ $ 100

Figure 17. Social Capital Mechanisms For EXTRA Income Opportunities $$$ and 101 Figure 18. The WHO of Personal Social Capital Transactions 103

Figure 19. Type of Personal Ties For Social Capital Transactions 105

XI ABSTRACT

This study addresses the social dimension of economic activity; specifically, it examines the nature of social linkages and its economic benefit to the peasant household economy. Illustrating a typology of social organizations and mechanisms as aresource helps to understand how social relationships play a role in the functioning of a family farm. From an applied perspective, this information is particularly useful to inform policy making and the delivery of funding projects in order to effectively create environments that leverage this social resource in order to promote well-being in the community. My study builds on a previous study of family adaptive strategies of 500 households of an immigrant population in the Calakmul municipality, Campeche, Mexico (Gurri et al., 2002). In Gurri et al.'s study (2002), itwas found that recent immigrants to the region had developed two different adaptive strategies: a "household commercial agricultural strategy" (HCA), whose focus is more on the market; and a "household subsistence agricultural strategy" (HSA), whose focus is more on subsistence productive activities. In their study, itwas found that HCA families earn more annual income and experience a relatively higher biological well-being than the HSA group (Gurri et al, 2002; Alayon and Gurri, 2007). My contribution to Gurri et al.'s study is to examine how social relationships affect the economy of a household and compare the nature and importance of social relationships in accessing resources for each group. My study was carried out using a sub- sample of Gurri et al.'s study where half of the sample belonged to the HCA group and the other half to the HSA group. Semi-informal interviews and a questionnaire that examined the economic transactions of the peasant household relating to the production process of jalapeno chili and the value added that social engagement has on these transactions were conducted with 26 peasant farmers (household heads). The findings demonstrate that social relationships do play an important role in supporting the economy of a household in an environment where formal institutions are weak; employment opportunities are scarce; communities are isolated from markets; and civil society is not well developed. Through comparative analysis of the two strategy groups it was found that the HCA group had more outside links than die HSA group; these links are a resource that develop the household capital portfolio and facilitate participation in more profitable income earning activities. The HSA group was found to rely more on close links in the community that engaged in reciprocity and 'helping one another out' - these links are a resource to maintain existing resources. Therefore, key factors in the nature of relationships foster household livelihoods with different purposes.

xn LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED

HCA Household Commercial Agricultural Strategy

HSA Household Subsistence Agricultural Strategy

INEGI The National Statistical Agency of Geography and Computer Science

(Instituto National de Estadistica Geografia e Informdtica)

NCPE New jfi/iiofa/Population Centers {Nuevo Centrasde Poblacion Ejidal)

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement PROCAMPO Program for Direct Assistance in Agriculture (Programa deApoyo Directos alCampd)

ECOSUR Multidisciplinary Scientific Research Centre in Southern Mexico (El Colegio

de la Frontera Sur)

EART Ecological Amhropology Research Team in ECOSUR

BMR Basal Metabolic Rate

xm GLOSSARY

Choi A dialect of the Mayan language family used by die Choltxhmc group in die state of Chiapas

Mestizo A person of mixed European and indigenous non-European ancestry

Chicle A type of tree species {Manilkara zapotd) that is abundant in die Calakmul forests; die resin of this tree produces chewing gum

Chicleras A Spanish term referring to people who work removing die resin of die Chicle tree

Ejido A community organized under die ejidalrtgaae which are lands diat are legally given for usufruct use to twenty peasants or more by die Mexico's federal government

Ejidatarias Are the people who own land in an ejido

ElPrograma National Deforestation Program tiiat promoted commercial production of Nacionalde rice, cattle, and maize Desmonte

Milpa Swidden farming - a slash-and-burn practice traditionally done in the Mayan region of Mexico tiiat focuses on die planting of die consumption staples maize, beans, and squash

La Merced The central market in Mexico City

Zona Chilera A Jalapeno chili growing zone of 3,300 km area in the southeastern portion of the Calakmul municipality

Chileros A Spanish term referring to farmers who actively cultivate and sell Jalapeno Chili

Oportunidad&s A federal subsidy program that offers modiers widi school aged children quarterly payments of house supplies (food and medicine) as long as diey demonstrate their children are attending school

Solar A Spanish word diat refers to a house garden in rural homes

Coyote A middle person in economic activities that involve die movement of people or products xiv Compadre A Spanish word that refers to a close, non-kin relationship where the degree

of closeness is equated (or more) with a blood relative

Padrino Godfather in Spanish

ElBachilkrato High School in Spanish

xv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

International funding and professional assistance facilitated me to complete the thesis research abroad. I was awarded a postgraduate research scholarship from the Ministry of Foreign

Affairs in Mexico and received field support from the Mexican research institute El Colegio de la

Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. ECOSUR is a multidisciplinary research and education center at the postgraduate level that focuses on the sustainable development of the southern region of Mexico. I worked closely with two researchers Dr.

Francisco Gurri and Dr. Armando Alayon, from the Ecological Anthropology Department of

ECOSUR. They aided me to develop an operational research design that grounded my research ideas to a practical study in the field and I would like to acknowledge dieir help and give my appreciation to the time they dedicated in working with me. Their knowledge, experience in the field, and willingness to share it was of great value in the development of my work.

I specially appreciate all the families that participated in my study who gave me their time to talk and answer my questions, and were kind and opened their homes to me. I appreciate the warm hospitality I received while in the field from Dona Lucia's family and Don Aurelio's family.

I appreciate the assistance I have received from Dalhousie University. I thank my

supervisor, Dr. Barry Lesser and my two readers, Dr. Francisco Gurri and Dr. Armando Alayon who facilitated the completion of this work.

xvi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

I.i. RESOURCES GAINED WITH SOCIAL INTERACTION

Human beings are social creatures. A staple notion of sociology is that involvement and participation in relationships and/or groups can have positive consequences for the individual and the community (Portes, 1998). Importance of social interaction for individual development can be traced back to the work of Durkeim who emphasized community engagement as an

"antidote to anomie and self-destruction" (Portes, 1998,pg.2). Apart from the more obvious social benefits received from social interaction, such as companionship, loyalty, and love, there is an economic resource gained with developing networks. During times of crisis, a trusting friend can be a source of support and act as a social safety net preventing the individual from falling into poverty; an acquaintance of a different social circle can supply new information, such as a tip on a job opportunity; membership in a volunteer organization increases trusting behaviour among members, which has a positive spillover effect to society at large: increased trust among individuals reduces transaction costs which increases social exchange and therefore is an engine for economic growth (Collier, 1998). Therefore, there is value in social connections in die form of resources that individuals can access by membership in particular types of networks

(Woolcock & Sweetser, 2002; Portes & Mooney, 2002).

As much as social relationships can bring added benefit to their members, it can also be a source of liability; therefore, there is also a downside to social interaction (Woolcock, 2001;

Portes & Landolt, 2002; Portes & Sensenbrenner, 1993). Portes & Sensenbrenner (1993) explain that "the same social mechanisms that give rise to appropriable resources for individual use can also constrain action or even derail it from its original goals" (pg. 1338). There is a cost

1 to community solidarity: inter-group relationships can give rise to a free-riding problem where less diligent group members can enforce demands on the more successful members resulting in promising enterprises unable to flourish because of community constraints (expectations)

(Portes & Sensenbrenner, 1993; Portes & Landolt, 2002). As well, community solidarity and its enforcement capacity may restrict the scope of individual expression and the extent of extra- community contacts. Furthermore, Portes & Sensenbrenner (1993) state that solidarity communities can develop negative 'levelling pressures' drat "keep members of downtrodden groups in the same situation as their peers" (pg. 1342). This norm works directly against efforts toward individual mobility and the mechanism at work is "the fear that a solidarity born out of common adversity, the identity of self, would be undermined by the departure of the more successful members" (pg. 1342).

With this said, the focus of this study is on the positive value of social connections, specifically, the ability of individuals to access different kinds of economic resources by membership in particular types of networks (Woolcock & Sweetser, 2002; Portes & Mooney,

2002).

I.L.I. Social Resources as 'Capital'

The World Bank Development Report (2002) states that social norms and networks are a key form of capital that people use to move out of poverty. Alongside human, natural, physical, and financialresources , social networks are a resource that makes up the household's asset portfolio. In the development literature, this social resource is referred to as social capital.

The notion of capital involves an investment that takes time to accumulate, the potential to produce surplus value and to generate a profit, and the tendency to persist (Lin, 2001;

2 Boudrieu, 1986; Collier, 1998). Pierre Boudrieu, the French sociologist, distinguishes three forms of capital: economic, cultural, and social (Boudrieu, 1986). Mercantile exchange, with its orientation toward the maximization of profits, has been the prime economy of practice and economic theory has excluded the 'noneconomic' forms of exchange. Bourdieu believes that in order to understand die structure and functioning of the social world, it is necessary to discuss capital in all its forms and not solely in die one form recognized by economic theory (Feldman &

Assaf, 1999). Bourdieu (1986) states that it is precisely widiin these 'noneconomic' types of exchange where most material forms of capital can present diemselves in the immaterial form of cultural or social capital and vice versa. Therefore, Bourdieu (1986) argues for a "general science of die economy of practices, which would treat mercantile exchange as a particular case of exchange in all its form" and allow for die different forms of capital to change into one anodier

(pg-243).

Bourdieu (1986) states diat every type of capital is reducible to economic capital. He describes economic capital as being immediately and direcdy convertible into money, material forms, and can be institutionalized in the form of property rights; cultural capital, can be institutionalized in the forms of educational qualifications; finally,socia l capital, which is made up of social connections, maybe institutionalized in die form of tides of nobility. Bourdieu

(1986) defines social capital as the following:

Social capital is die aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition — or in odier words, to membership in a group—which provides each of its members with die backing of the collectivity-owned capital, a "credential" which entities them to credit, in the various senses of the word. (pg. 249)

3 According to the Bourdieu's notion of social capital, it is similar to human capital in the sense that it is an intangible asset, but none-the-less requires an investment from individuals in order to reap the benefits of its production. One must invest time to develop social ties and offer attention and care in order to cultivate strong bonds with others (Collier, 1999; Lin 2001;

Bourdieu, 1986). Bourdieu (1986) states that this 'gratuitous expenditure', from a narrow economic perspective, is actually a solid investment where the fruitful returns, in monetary or other forms, will appear in die long run. Therefore, Bourdieu's notion of the concept is instrumental to the idea that "people intentionally build their relations for the benefits that diey will bring later on" (Portes, 2002, pg. 304); which is similar to human capital theory where individuals invest in technical skills and knowledge, and as a result of this investment, dieir labour-skill credentials create surplus value in die production market, i.e. results in higher

earnings.

Persistence is anodier general feature of capital; for social capital, persistence can be

intrinsic either to social interaction, or to its effects (Collier, 1999). The persistence of social

interaction can be defined either in terms of its composition or its structure. An example of

compositional persistence of social interaction is a marriage, where die same two people interact

daily; an example of structural persistence is a cafe, a location where people meet and interact with die possibility diat die actual composition of social interaction is constandy changing

(Collier, 1998). Several studies have focused on the former type of persistence of social

interaction because it has the potential to build trust among members and for some scholars trust

is die quintessential feature of social capital (Putnam et al, 1993; Knack and Keefer, 1996).

4 Persistence in social interaction allows for a stock to develop. At any given moment, each individual has a stock of social capital, in the form of different types of networks, in which he/she can access resources that serve an array of purposes. Bourdieu (1986) states that:

The volume of the social capital possessed by a given agent thus depends on the size of the network of connections he can effectively mobilize and on the volume of the capital (economic, cultural or symbolic) possessed in his own right by each of those to whom he is connected. (pg-249)

Persistence in its effects has already been discussed with Boudrieu's notion of the interchangeable nature of the different forms of capital. Collier (1998) states diat the most obvious form of persistence is if social interaction induces investment in physical capital

(economic capital for Bourdieu); as well, the effects of social engagement can be stored in human capital (aversion of Bourdieu's cultural capital) and a further possibility is reinvestment in odier forms of social capital (Collier, 1998). Collier (1999) explains that the last possibility occurs because trust is the outcome of social interaction and it is durable.

In summary, the notion of social capital, involves three fundamental ingredients: investment in social relations, resources embedded in a social structure, and the use of resources to create surplus value for the individual (Bourdieu, 1986; Burt, 1992; Coleman, 1988/1990;

Lin 1999; Portes, 2002).). Presumably, by drawing on the social capital in relationships, individuals can furdier their own goals (Bourdieu, 1986; Coleman, 1988,1990; Lin, 2001) and the goals of their networks or social structures (Putnam, 2000; Putnam & Feldstein, 2003). In short, social capital makes it possible to achieve certain aims that cannot be achieved by individuals alone in its absence (Putnam, 2000).

5 I.LIL Socially Embedded Resources Enhance Economic Outcomes

There are four elements to social networks that enable its embedded resources to enhance the economic outcomes of individual action, i.e. the surplus value produced from its use. The first element is that social networks facilitate the flow of information (Lin, 1999;

Durlauf & Fafchamps, 2004; Collier, 1999). Hayek (1945) pointed to the fact that

"information asymmetries are an inescapable feature of human society" (Durlauf & Fafchamps,

2004, pg. 7); as a result this impedes the potential of social exchange in society "because agents who could benefit from trade cannot find each other" (pg. 7). Lin (1999) argues diat social ties located in certain strategic locations and/or hierarchical positions can provide an individual with useful information about opportunities and choices otherwise not available. For example, in

Granovetter (1975)'s study, it was found that informal networks functioned as a job allocation mechanism as several participants in the study found employment via personal recommendations and word-of-mouth.

The second element is that these information flows within networks have the potential to reduce transactions costs for participating members and for society at large. The personal trust generated between interacting members allows for free flowo f immediate information that enable a 'savings' of search time for similar information via formal institutions (Lin, 1999).

Furthermore, transactions costs are reduced for society at large the greater the norm of generalized trust is found among the public (Durlauf & Fafchamps, 2004).

Thirdly, Lin (1999) states that social ties have the potential to change preferences of

"agents who play a critical role in decisions involving the actor" (pg. 31). For example, 'putting in a word' for a friend may influence positively the hiring possibility of the individual.

6 Lastly, an individual can use his/her social tie resources as social credentials to facilitate a certain outcome. Therefore, rtiese four elements of social networks- circulates information, reduces transaction costs, influences preferences, and enhances social credentials- are possible explanations of how social capital facilitates economic outcomes of individual action (Lin,

1999).

I.i.iii. Individual Level Versus Group Level of Social Capital

Thus far, the discussion has been on the notion of social capital as an asset that requires investment in order to reap die returns of the embedded resources in the social ties. There are two perspectives relative to the level at which the return or profit is conceived: either at die group or for individual level (Lin, 1999; Woolcock & Narayan, 2000). I will examine each in turn.

• Group level

Woolcock & Narayan (2000) sate that a diverse stock of social organizations (networks and group associations) is a collective asset for the community, as diis social resource helps to: confront poverty and vulnerability; resolve disputes; and take advantage of new opportunities.

Lin (1999) describes the focal point for group analysis are two fold: how certain groups develop and maintain more or less social capital as a collective asset; and how such a collective asset enhances group members' well-being. Most group analysis studies of social capital approach the latter focal point, and from this perspective, social capital is examined as a public good (Lin,

1999; Durlauf & Fafchamps, 2004; Grootaert, 1997; Grootaert &van Bastelaer, 2002;

Coleman, 1988). 'Vacpublic good view of social capital is an extension of Durkheimian'sviewof social relations, where all members of die community benefit from the by-products of social interactions, such as trust, norms of sanctions, and authority (Lin, 1999). Vat public good view

7 also assumes that although all members of the community (or group) benefit from such outcomes, it only takes individual members to produce these effects; therefore, there is a spillover effect from the production of these social resources i.e. a positive externality is produced and therefore, there is a risk of underproduction (Durlauf & Fafchamps, 2004). This view of social capital has placed importance on social solidarity and its contribution to economic exchange at an aggregate level. Moreover, this approach has highlighted the role that norms and sanctions, a by-product of social interaction, play to resolve coordination and collective action problems (Dasgupta, 2000), such as, for example common property resources management issues (Ostrom, 1990).

• Individual

The most compelling empirical evidence in support of the social capital diesis is from the micro level where the unifying argument is, controlling for other key variables, "the well- connected are more than likely to be hired, housed, healdiy, and happy" (Woolcock, 2001, pg.

5). Woolcock & Narayan (2000) state that the basic idea of the individual perspective of social capital is that a person's family, friends, and associates constitute an asset in a time of crisis, to leverage for material gain, and to enjoy for its own sake. When social capital is analyzed at the individual level, its focus is how individuals access and use resources embedded in social networks to gain returns in instrumental actions - to gain wealth, power, or reputation, e.g. to find abetter job or expressive actions - to maintain cohesion, solidarity, or well-being, e.g. to find a community that is safe to raise a family (Lin, 1999). Thus, at this relational level, social capital is the description of resources that are embedded in different types of social networks;

8 whereas the public good view (or group perspective) perceives the level of social capital in terms of a geographical location, e.g. community or a society.

In this study, the individual perspective of social capital is used and is viewed as dynamic in nature: the reliance on certain networks for specific benefits is not a constant; its change reflects die access to alternative networks that enable for a different resource flow and/or a more efficient flowo f the same resources. Therefore, multidimensional and dynamic nature of these social resources results in an 'optimal mix' of relationships depending on the stage of development.

I.ii. RESEARCH SITE} WHAT IS KNOWN OF THESE HOUSEHOLDS?

This research builds on a family adaptive study in the region (Gurri et al., 2002). It is known diat immigrant peasant households develop adaptive strategies in their new environment and that these strategies are influenced by cultural features and prior agricultural practices

(Gurri et al., 2002). It is also assumed diat households that emigrate from the same environment have similar cultural features (such as language, organization of family, customs) and agricultural practices. Gurri et al.'s study (2002) found that the immigrant population in Calakmul, Mexico developed two different adaptive strategies reflecting two different agricultural production systems: commercial and traditional farming. The focus of household commercial farming is to engage in market activities that will render a profit that allows the household to invest in capital goods in order to expand their production system. The focus of household traditional farming is to engage in subsistence activities that assure stability in consumption throughout the year by investing time and effort in diverse productive activities (Gurri et al, 2002; Alayon, 2006). All 9 households in the Gurri study were engaged in jalapeno chili farming, the most profitable cash crop in the region. Commercial households reinvested some of their earnings to crop development where as traditional households spend their earnings paying prior debts and/or on consumption. It was found that families that emigrated from the same area in Mexico did not necessarily practice the same agricultural productive system in their new environment, i.e.

Calakmul.

These prior studies also examined how die household strategy type affects its members

(i.e. well-being) and its impact on the environment. It was found that commercial households experience relatively higher well-being (monetary and biological) dian traditional households

(Gurri et al, 2002; Alayon and Gurri, 2007) and the commercial agricultural system is more vulnerable and less sustainable than the traditional agricultural system (Alayon, 2006).

I.ii.i. Approaches of Analysis of Economic Practices

Explanations for why these different economic practices exist in this region can be approached in the following ways.

• Economic theory

One explanation of differences in economic practice is related to economic theory and the factors of production that are used to create value and economic performance. The tangible factors are land, labour, and capital stock and the intangible factors are human capital and technology. In the long run, if all factors of production increase, productivity increases; however, in the short run, at least one factor is held constant, for example, land, and as variable factors increase, productivity increases to a point then decreases as diminishing marginal returns take effect.

10 Within this framework, the working assumption is maximization of profits and efficiency of productivity relating to the factors of production. The quality and quantity of land can effect the type of agricultural system households adopt. Households that have more land diat is suited for die cultivation of jalapeno chili will be more likely to adopt commercial farming as they can reap the market benefits from planting this crop. Households that have land diat is less ideal for jalapeno chili will engage in subsistence production. As labour is also akey factor of production in agriculture, households that have greater access to labour supplies can increase their productivity. As capital stock is a key factor of production in agriculture, households that invest more in capital stock are able to develop productivity of dieir land. Technology is embedded in capital stock. By having access to capital stock with a higher technological capacity, the capital stock is made more efficient and hence, more productive. Human capital is embedded in labour, in the sense that a more skillful labourer will be more productive than a less skillfull one. Human capital is acquired through education and training, whether formal or on-the-job. Therefore, people who invest in human capital can reap greater returns in production.

• Preference of Risk

Another explanation of differences in economic practice deals with preferences for risk.

Remaining with die assumption of maximization of profit, people who have a preference for risk aversion will avoid the adaptive strategy that is more vulnerable (i.e. commercial farming) and choose a more reliable and secure adaptive strategy that will ensure consumption throughout the year (traditional fanning). On the other hand, people who have a preference for risk-taking will tend to engage in profit generation activities in order to have the opportunity to develop and invest in the economy of the household.

11 • Lifestyle choice

Another possible explanation of differences in economic practice relates to lifestyle choices, where the principal assumption of economic theory, maximization of profit, does not apply. Chayanov, a Russian economist, argued that the peasant economy is not based on the profit motive, as is the case in commercial farming, but rather the satisfaction levels of the labourers. In most smallholder farms, the family has the dual role of a production and consumption unit and die primary purpose of production is to satisfy the subsistence needs of the family. Once a peasant household has done enough work to ensure an acceptable consumption level for the family, it does not work any harder because of diminishing marginal returns on the extra labour units added .

• Social Capital Metaphor

The last explanation offered is the social capital metaphor: people who do 'better' are

somehow better connected. In the case of economic practice, whom you know may influence the type of resources that you can access, and therefore, affect the economic practice that you will

engage in and the agricultural productive system you will adopt. In this study, the social capital metaphor, from the individual perspective, is adopted to understand the social relationships role in the functioning of a family farm.

More is said about the logic of the peasant economy in Chapter three, under the section "The Agrarian Question". 12 I.lit. THE PRESENT STUDY

• Impetus

The catch phrase 'It is not what you know, but who you know" entice some to question how the social dimension affects economic activity, in particular, how social relationships can be mobilized to access resources that help individuals to get ahead, as well as to get by. The economic analysis of livelihood strategies of peasant households relies on a study of the accumulation and organization of assets such as labour, land, credit, physical capital, technology, and human capital and an examination of how the social capital of the household helps in its livelihood strategies.

• Focus

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of social links as intangible assets in the productive activities of the household, to demonstrate that the nature of the relationship affects the types of resources accessed and to demonstrate that these social resources differ for different economic practices, i.e., commercial agriculture versus traditional

(subsistence) agriculture.

• Argument

A major hypothesis of this study is that the nature of an individual's social links (relating to relational features such as bond strength, extension of networks, and diversity of engaged actors) is one of the factors that shape the development of a household economy.

• Scope

The broader contextual environment of the study region can be generally described as having: weak formal institutions; scarce employment opportunities; isolated markets from

13 communities; and a civil society not well developed. To understand how relationships influence the functioning of the household economy within this contextual environment it is necessary to reduce the scale of analysis to the social ties between individuals and to understand the social capital metaphor of the different economic practice. The scope of analysis of the study is the household, represented by the household head's social ties, but the analysis of networks is not limited by geographical boundaries; die nature of the social links can extend beyond die community (or country in some cases).

• Importance

This investigation can contribute to development discourse because illustrating a typology of social organizations as a resource helps to understand how social relationships play a role in die functioning of a family farm and how this role changes depending on die organization of productive activities (i.e. economy of practices). From an applied perspective, this information is useful for policy makers to create environments diat leverage these social resources to promote the well-being of the community and for development practitioners to ensure the more effective delivery of projects in communities.

I.iii.i. Questions Addressed in This Study

There are two parts to die questions addressed in this study: Part 1, deals widi the social ties as assets, and Part 2, deals with different economic practices and its social resources.

Part 1: Social tiesa s assets

1. Are social relationships important in accessing capital resources and income earning opportunities? If yes, how i.e. what is the added value social engagement has on diese economic transactions?

14 2. What is the association with the nature of social relationships and the type of resource accessed, i.e. what is the typology of social organizations and mechanisms as a resource in facilitating economic activity?

Part 2: Economic practices and its social resources

3. Does die nature of social resources differ for the economic practices of commercial agriculture versus traditional agriculture?

4. Does increased market engagement equate with less reliance on social networks for resources?

I.tii.iL Road Map of Thesis

In Chapter II, the context of the Calakmul region is discussed. A description of the general socioeconomic conditions and some of die history dating from the beginning of the 20th century to present day is given; a summary of the broad institutional environment and a discussion of some of the issues affecting the region and its population today are offered. The chapter II ends widi some comments on the future outlook for regional economic development.

In Chapter III, the Previous Research that this present study builds- Family adaptive strategies in Calakmul (Gurri et al., 2002)- is described. This chapter begins with a background to the field of Ecological Anthropology and discussion of the concept of adaptation and how as human beings we develop adaptive strategies in our environment. Following is a description of the study on Family adaptive strategies, a discussion of its findingso f two strategy types for peasant households in Calakmul, and finally a summary of follow up studies- a comparative analysis of Vulnerability, Sustainability, and Adaptability (measure of well-being) measures

15 between the household commercial agricultural strategy (HCA) and die household subsistence

agricultural strategy (HSA).

In Chapter IV, a discussion of the Methodology and Data usage is given. The chapter

begins by describing the two visits to the communities and the interview process, and then the

construction of the questionnaire diat dealt with the chili production process and the importance

of social relationships in facilitating its economic activity. Following, a description of the

assumptions used in the present study, a discussion of the variables used from the data gathered

in the field, and for the sake of analysis, an explanation of the ranking of resources and income

earning opportunities are given.

In Chapter V, a discussion of the results is given. The chapter begins by summarizing

die findings for the morphological characteristics of the study sample, from the Questionnaire

'Household Characteristics'. An examination of how social ties are assets is offered. A

discussion of the importance of social relations in economic activity, the value added of social

engagement in economic transactions, mechanisms of social resources, the association between

social capital mechanisms and resource and income opportunity accessed are offered and finally a

discussion of the association between nature of social relationships and resource accessed.

In Chapter VI, the study concludes by addressing die initial questions presented in this

study and reverting back to the principal hypothesis.

16 CHAPTER II. CONTEXT

ILL. GENERAL FEATURES OF THE CALAKMUL REGION

The study zone area is located in the state of Campeche and is found in the southeastern region of die Yucatan Peninsula (Figure 1); research took place in the Calakmul municipality, the largest of die 11 municipalities in Campeche (Figure 22).

Figure 1. Map of the Yucatan Peninsula in the Southeastern Region of Mexico

it-. v\v

takenfrom: hup://\w\\.elbalcro.goh.mv/ki(ls/aboui/html/mdigenous/mayas.html

Figure 2. Map of the State of Campeche and Its Municipalities

S YUCATAN iV C 'M E CALKIN I V HECELCHAKAN TEN«BO

Q i U ! CHAMPOTON I j N I 11 CARMEN : N " A ESCARCEGA CALAKMUL R P"LIZADA 0 CANDELftRW 0 TMBASCP C-UATEMALA BE LICE j takenfrom: http://www.campeche.gob.mx/Campeche/Estado/Mapa/Mapa_geo.php

The star symbol in Figure 2. represents the capital city of the state of Campeche, City of Campeche. 17 Calakmul region has a population of 24 922 that makes up 3% of the total population of

Campeche and represents almost 25% of the state's territory (Government of Campeche). In

1996, Calakmul region was officially declared an independent municipality with its own regional government; where before this time it was associated with the municipality of Escarcega (just east of Calakmul). The headquarters of the regional government is located in the town of Xpujil and has a population of 3,222; it is located on die major highway from the city of Escarcega to die city of Chetumal.

Fieldwork took place in two communities, Cristobal Colon and Las Carmelas (figure 4,), with populations, respectively, of 700 and 355 people (INEGI, 2005).

Figmre3. Map of the Calakmul Municipality

CaMMttl 3lesptwre Mcrw

taken from: Keys and Chowdhury, 2006, pg. 78

18 Cristobal Colon was founded in 1969, and almost all of the inhabitants are "mestizo" : the majority of the people emigrated from the states of Veracruz, and Tabasco. The primary language spoken in Cristobal Colon is Spanish. Las Carmelas was founded in 1974 and its inhabitants are indigenous people from the state of Chiapas. Even though the majority of the people in Las Carmelas can function in Spanish, the primary language spoken in the community is "Choi" ; it is part of the school curriculum so that the children learn native tongue of the parents.

II.li. SOCIOECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN CALAKMUL

As Stedman-Edwards (1997) states: "Poverty is ubiquitous in the Calakmul region" (pg.

9) and it is the poorest municipality in Campeche State (Keys, 2004; Haenn, 2000). According to INEGI (2005) [Instituto National de Estadistica Geografia e Informatica], the proxy for life expectancy indicates that the Calakmul region ranks the lowest out of all the municipalities: only

4% of the population lives to be past 60 years old compared to an 8% average in the rest of the state. Calakmul also fares the lowest in educational attainment: 20% of the population aged 15 years or older has no education compared to 13% in die rest of Campeche (INEGI, 2005).

However, the new generation in Calakmul is becoming more educated: the percentage of school age children from 6-14 years tiiat do NOT attend school is 5% in Calakmul compared to 6% in die rest of Campeche. The proxy for wealth indicates that 33% of living dwellings have a dirt floor compared to 12.55% in the rest of Campeche. A dirt floor is a sign of poverty and a paved floor is one of the first signs of improvement in ahousehold's economy.

Mestizo refers to people of mixed Europena and indigenous non-European ancestry "Choi" lanuguage is a branch of the Mayan language family used by the Choi ethnic group in Chiapas. 19 As a result of an immigration influx in the 70s and 80s, Calakmul has a heterogeneous population that includes people from 23 different states. The majority of these migrants are from die surrounding states: Yucatan, Chiapas, Tabasco and Veracruz (Stedman-Edwards,

1997). Approximately half of die population in Calakmul speak some indigenous language of

Yucatec Maya, Choi, or Tzeltal. Accordingto INEGI (2005), in Calakmul, 35% of the population aged 5 years and older speak an indigenous language and 47% of the population come from households whose head speaks an indigenous language; the rest of Campeche is 22% and 35% respectively.

In bodi communities, several services and infrastructure are offered (see Table 1.).

Cristobal Colon is 35 km away from the main market in Xpujil and Las Carmelas is 50 km away, and bodi communities are accessible via a paved road. The nearest community to Cristobal

Colon is Narcisco Mendoza, which is 1 km away, and Ninos Heroes is 5 km away from Las

Carmelas. Public phone access is available in the community of Las Carmelas, residents of

Cristobal Colon use die public phone in the neighbouring community of Narcisco Mendoza.

Regarding electricity services, it has been only in die past 15-20 years diat bodi communities have had electricity. It is common in most communities in Calakmul dial die electricity is shut off during the night. There is a community store, in bodi communities, diat sells dry and some fresh goods and tiierei s a local agrochemical supplier in Las Carmelas.

Table 1. Services and Infrastructure in Cristobal Colon and Las Carmelas paved phone electricity community agrochem. from nearest road store supplier Xpujil community Cristobal Colon yes 1km yes yes no 35 km 1km Las Carmelas yes yes yes yes yes 50 km 5 km

20 Regarding educational services both communities have a primary and secondary school; however, only Las Carmelas has a high school5. Only Las Carmelas has a health clinic however, both communities are equipped with one fulltime staff referred to as a "health promoter" and both communities receive weekly visits from outside nurses. For recreational activities, there is a basketball court and a soccer fieldi n both communities. There are public transportation services that run about once or twice day from the communities to Xpujil and returns in the evening.

Only Las Carmelas has a taxi service in the community to drive residents to Xpujil or neighbouring communities. Regarding access to water, only in Las Carmelas is there a deep well; however, all residents in both communities collect rain water, the only source of water in most communities in Calakmul, with large receptacles donated the by regional government.

Table 2. Education, Health, Water Services, and Transportation Services in Cristobal Colon and Las Carmelas primary secondary health deep basketball soccer public taxi school school clinic well court field. transport transport Cristobal Colon yes yes no no yes yes yes no Las Carmelas yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

H.tU. HISTORY OF THE CALKAMUL REGION

The Calakmul municipality, once home to Mayan society, constitutes the southeastern end of a tropical forest zone. Klepeis (2004) states "from the collapse of the Classic Maya civilization to the 20th Century, the occupation (of the region) was sparse": the forest served as a

"refuge during the colonial period for those Maya fleeing Spanish domination along the coasts"

(pg. 40). The modern developments of the region can be divided into four phases: large scale forest extraction, occurring in die late 19 Century; the colonization period, beginning in the

There are only two high schools south of Xpujil: one in Las Carmelas and the other in the community El Cibalito. 21 1970s; the introduction of commercial jalapeno chili production in 1975; finally, national and international efforts in conservation, initiated in die late 1980s (Turner et al., 2004).

Il.iii.i. Forest Extraction

At die end of die 19di Century, national and international entrepreneurs extracted forests for specialized logging; more intensive forest extraction began with die advent of chewing gum. Klepeis (2004) explains that, die resin of the Chicle tree {Manilkara zapotd) was used to produce chewing gum and Calakmul's forests were richi n diis tree species. The Chicle industry grew as die international market for Chicle was in high demand, especially during the period of

World War I & II (Klepeis, 2004); during this time Campeche state became the world's largest producer of Chicle (Ponce, 1990). The boom period of the Chicle industry, 1903-1945, attracted many workers from outside die region and as a result temporary setdements for die

Chicleros 6 were established. As well, during this time, diere were few permanent settlements diatwere developed from Chicleros moving dieir families to die Calakmul region to create homesteads and ejidas (Klepeis, 2004). The short-lived boom economy ended in die 1940s when the development of syndietic latex entered die world market and replaced the natural latex found in die resin of Chicle (Haenn, 2000). Consequendy, this had "catastrophic consequences on the Chicle market" in Calakmul (Klepeis, 2004, pg. 43).

After the collapse of the Chicle market, government officials and industry refocused dieir attention on die abundant stands of mahogany and cedar in the region (Klepeis, 2004, pg. 43).

A road network was developed in die region making extraction more accessible and an increase of permanent setdements arose during 1930s-1950s. Some saw-mill based ejidas participated

Chicleros are the 'tappers' who extracted the sap from the Chicle tree. Communities organized under the ejidal'regime are lands that are legally given to twenty peasants or more by the Mexico's federal government for usufruct use (Haenn, 1999, Klepeis, 2004) 22 in the forest industry while most of the other ejidos solely engaged in swidden farming , a traditional slash-and-burn practice (Klepeis et al., 2004). The boom period for the hardwood and softwood industry occurred in the 1950s and abrupdy ended: Klepeis (2004) states that forest extraction companies "severely mined die region of its mahogany and Spanish cedar, affecting species composition of the upland forest" (pg. 55).

II.li.Lii. Colonization Period

Beginning in die 19 70s, Mexico's national policy created incentives that encouraged migrants of numerous edinic groups from all parts of the country to the Calakmul region; diis became commonly known as the 'last agricultural frontier' in Mexico (Haenn, 1999). Haenn

(2000) notes that the history of land repartition in Mexico has its roots in the Revolution of

1910.

During the 1910 revolution, illegal takeover of peasants' communal land spurred a breakout of revolutionary movements among peasants and after more than 10 years of fighting, peasants' demands for land were formally introduced in Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution.

Its mandate was for "botfi distribution of land to needy farmers and support to the agricultural

sector" (Haenn, 2000, pg. 14). As a result, a distinctive land tenure system of communal lands, known as ejidos, was established (Stedman-Edwards, 1997). Klepeis & Chowdry (2004) explain that die Article 2 7 of the constitution was established partly to protect die 'indigenous' people

from privatization as "e/idatarioswere prevented from selling dieir land, renting it or using it as

collateral, and from negotiating deals with private investors" (pg. 146). Currendy,

approximately 42% of Mexican land is held by ejidos (DeWalt and Rees, 1994). Haenn (2000)

In the Mayan region of Mexico, this system is referred to as xhtMilpa system (Klepeis et al., 2004), which is mixed planting of the consumption staples, maize, beans, and squash (Chowdry & Turner, 2006). 23 states that the land reform has not had consistent results throughout the country, in particular in

Mexican's southern states, where many peasant farmers continue to work on "small, marginalized plots of land" (pg. 14). Moreover, many peasant farmers have been displaced due to social unrest, such as the conflict of 1994 in Chiapas, and natural hazards, such as the eruption of Chichonal volcano in Chiapas (Gurri, 2001).

When the president of the republic, in early 1970, opened land in the Calakmul municipality to be divided into large sizeable land holdings of 50 hectares per family (Boege,

1995), landless peasants around the country flocked to the region to take advantage of this bonanza. The paving of the Chetumal-Escarcega road (Highway 186), completed in 1972, was a major development in the region diat had dramatic effects on the setdement during the colonization period (Kepeis & Chowdry, 2004). Currently, die region's population is 25,000, representing at least 23 of Mexico's 32 states and numerous indigenous groups in 114 communities, which are mosdy ejidos (Haenn, 2000; Stedman-Edwards, 1997).

The colonization period in Calakmul demonstrated a change in the government's perception of the ejido from "ill-suited to modernization" to "a vehicle for commercial agriculture" (Klepeis & Chowdhury, 2004, pg. 146). In response to a national food-production shortfall in the 1980s, the federal government initiated development programs that implemented technological changes in agriculture. Klepeis & Chowdry (2004) explain that colonization became "a means of resolving problems of land shortage elsewhere in the country, low agricultural production nationally, and political tensions" (pg. 147). The new ejidos established in the Calakmul region were referred to as NCPE's (Nuevo Centres de Poblacion Ejidal) - New

Ejidal Population Centers.

24 The principal goals of the NCPE program were to provide new residents with opportunities in agriculture and livestock rearing and reduce deforestation diat officials perceived to be associated with swidden agriculture (Klepeis & Chowdry, 2004; Turner et al.,

2001). Turner etal. (2001) explain that "during the petro-boom of the late 1970s early 1980s,

Mexico invested in large development projects in the region" (pg. 359) known as xhzEl

Programa National deDesmonte (National Deforestation Program) that promoted the commercial production of rice, cattle, and maize (Klepeis, 2004). As a result of these development initiatives, as much as 10,000hawere cleared to modernize the region (Turner et al., 2001; Klepeis, 2004). In die late 1980s these large-scale projects collapsed due to several reasons: faulty design and mismanagement of projects, and the "Mexican debt crisis at (the) time made die government re-evaluate sustained investment in the venture" (Klepeis, 2004, pg. 48).

Klepeis (2004) explains that widi die petro-bust and devaluation of the peso, local e/idatarioswere left with few options odier than to maintain subsistence cultivation by swidden farming. However, in Calakmul, living on and working the land in quickly proved to be a hardship on its new residents. Boege (1995) states "its unfavorable environmental context" made for "harsh conditions for the setdement of human populations" (pg. 13). This is due to its extreme climate seasons, from its hurricane season to mondis of drought; its unstable rainfall with strong seasonal variations (Boege, 1995); and poor ecological conditions for agriculture for example its shallow soils and high frequency of pests (Stedman-Edwards, 1997). Finally, fresh water is amajor issue in Calakmul: there are no permanent sources of runningwater in the area

(Stedman-Edwards, 1997), few sources of standing water during the dry season and only very deep ground water sources, depths in excess of 150±200m can be found (Turner et al., 2001).

25 In summary, although offices of the agrarian reform agency actively promoted migration to Calakmul there was "little planning and no infrastructure support" (Haenn, 2000, pg. 8).

The land bonanza proved to be more of a lottery. Moreover, political and economic marginalization of the area made it difficult to improve local socioeconomic conditions

(Stedman-Edwards, 1997).

II.iu.iii. Commercial Jalapeno Chili Production

Keys (2004A) explains that "after maize, the commercial cultivation of jalapeno chili

{Capsicum annum) is the most important land use in die southern Yucatan peninsular region in terms of the numbers of farmers engaged in the practice and the total area devoted to it" (pg.

207). Chili cultivation is the most important source of income for agricultural producers and one of the few viable sources for employment in the region as it creates jobs for field workers at certain times of the year (Boege, 1995).

In 1975, three farmers introduced the production of this cash crop in a small community south of Xpujil. In their original homeland, Veracruz state, these farmers had die experience of cultivating maize and chili plots (Keys, 2004A). Once in Calakmul, for consumption strategies these farmers practiced the traditional milpa farming system and with the hopes of generating some income for the family, they cultivated jalapeno chili (Keys, 2004). Initially, in order to reach the local market in Xpujil diese farmers dried their chili, and moved the produce for 30 kilometers on horseback over rough logging roads; however, those initial sales did not compensate for the arduous journey (Keys, 2005). Through social connections the farmers invited an outside buyer to establish business in the region. Keys (2004A) explains:

26 The buyer traveled to ejidos and bought dried chili for sale in the Mexico City market, La Merced, or in his home market of Puebla (the capital city of the state of Puebla). He, in turn, began traveling to other parts of the region, informing smallholders that he would buy chili if the crop were available, (pg. 210)

Byword of mouth, the opportunity to earn income from chili cultivation spread rapidly and it was not long before a zonachilera, a chili-growing zone of3,300kmarea, spanned the southeastern portion of the Calakmul municipality (Chowdry & Turner, 2006). Before 1975 no commercial cultivation existed in the region and by 1985 it was prevalent throughout. According to a study conducted by Keys (2004A), in Calakmul, out of the 160 households surveyed 92% of them had attempted chili cultivation at least once and 85 % of the farmers were chikros, i.e.

active jalapeno chili farmers.

Chili cultivation is distinguished from the milpa system in its capital requirements, labour intensity, and risk (Klepeis & Vance, 2003; Keys, 2004A). Chili production requires

intensive application of fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides, whereas milpa production generally does not use chemical inputs; a hectare of chili requires over five times as much labour

inputs than a hectare of milpa; and finally, chili market and sales are highly volatile in Calakmul whereas the milpa system is not dependent on the market as it is mainly for consumption

(Klepeis & Vance, 2003). All these factors make chili cultivation a risky venture for

smallholders in Calakmul.

The monocrop practice of chili cultivation can take the form of mechanized and non- mechanized (swidden) farming. According to Keys' study (2004A) 30% of chili farmers in

Calakmul practice mechanized farming, while the remainder 70% practice swidden agriculture to prepare their chili fields. Keys' (2004A) study also found that on average mechanized farmers tend to cultivate more land than the non-mechanized group: 1.85 ha versus 1.17 ha, as well, die 27 mechanized group was found to have higher yields and higher net profits dian the latter group.

In Keys' (2004A) study, all fanners interviewed expressed a desire to have their land mechanized.

To practice mechanized farming depends on land type, economic feasibility, and access

to government programs; these three factors have the potential to exclude some smallholders

from participating in diis type of farming. First, not all land is suitable for mechanized farming- it

has to be flat and in die Calakmul region the terrain is generally hilly (Keys, 2005). Second,

mechanization requires the use of a tractor and greater application of agrochemicals; both factors

increase the input costs of production (Keys, 2004A). Lasdy, government and non-government

programs encourage mechanize farming because it is assumed diat it will lead to

'sedentarization' or intensification of agriculture (Keys, 2004A). In Keys' (2004A) study most

of the farmers surveyed felt that mechanization (access to a tractor) was best attained through

political connections - "aproxy to social capital" (pg. 21). Therefore, only those smallholders

that own or have access to die appropriate land type, own sufficient economic funds, and have the

necessary social connections will have greater success in mechanized farming and hence, greater

probability in earning more profits from chili farming.

As mentioned, chili cultivation in Calakmul is highly instable in its production and sales.

Calakmul chili is perceived to be of low quality relative to the primary chili-growing regions of

the nordiern states and Bajio region of Mexico (Keys, 2005; Keys, 2004A). These areas

constitute the primary and secondary suppliers whereas Calakmul region is seen as a tertiary

supply region and as a result the farm gate price in diese primary regions is consistendy higher

than what is found in the Calakmul region. The Calakmul crop increases in value when demand is

28 not met in the primary areas; for example, in 1998 the price for Calakmul chili was

$ 1.43/kilogram and inl 999, frost and pest attacks in the north of Mexico lowered the total

national supply, and a result the price for Calakmul chili rose to $2.09/kilogramn (Keys,

2004A).

As mentioned, the sale of chili in Calakmul was made possible by the fact that

intermediary buyers entered die region. Currendy, there are diree principle intermediaries in

Calakmul, colloquially referred to as coyotes . Their principal role is to link farmers to regional

and national buyers by negotiating die farm-gate price. Keys (2005) states, diey "constitute a

'real face' in die odierwise 'hidden land' of die market" (pg. 27). As well, intermediaries provide

important technical information, capital stock, access to difficult-to-obtain items, and in few

cases, loans to smallholders (Keys, 2005).

However, Keys (2005) states diat "die 'coyote' may have enabled smallholder entry into

commercial chili production, but diis service has come at die price of coyote control of chili

marketing in die region" (pg. 36): they collude in prices and dieir monopolistic power and

willingness to use coercion have maintained dieir privileged position (Keys, 2005). According

to a 1999-2000 study conducted by Keys (2005) die majority of die smallholders surveyed felt

diat die way in which coyotes operated and die prices they paid were unfair as well, die farmers

felt tiiey were not given just returns for their labour and investment. Yet smallholders are faced

witii limited options as their communities are physically marginalized from larger markets. In

Keys' (2005) study, mechanized chili farmers earned on average slightly more than US$ 1,042

per hectare each year and tiiosepracticin g swidden chili farming earned US$729 per hectare in a

Keys (2005) explains, coyote can be a derogatory term, depending on the intonation, and "implies illegal activities and is used throughout Mexico to describe a person who engages in the movement of people or products" (pg. 32). 29 year; in general, few farmers cultivate more than 2 hectares of chili, therefore, a full year's production of chili is not sufficient to pay for the costs associated with its shipping to the national market in Mexico (Keys, 2005, pg. 34). Furthermore, attempts to organize chili shipment among groups of farmers have proven difficult in the region (Keys, 2005). Therefore, without substantial external support to develop their own transportation and associations/cooperatives, smallholders are tied to intermediaries to sell their chili.

In summary, chili cultivation is a high-risk venture in Calakmul yet it is the most proven commercial crop available to smallholders in the region. Volatile prices, uncertain growing conditions, and changing consumer tastes have created high uncertainty for these smallholders

(Keys, 2005). Plus, the development of chili fanning in Calakmul has come at a cost to the environment. The annual area cultivated has increased (contradictory to the sederentization assumption of government officials) which has increased the rate of deforestation in the region: monocropping practice of chili farming helps to foster insect and microbial pests, this results in an increase of agrochemical application -which effects the health of the chili cultivators and depletes the fertility of the soil - this results in parcels of land that use to have 5 or 6 growing seasons (equated to years) are now found to last only 2-3 seasons, which means, new parcels of land are created for chili cultivation resulting in greater deforestation (Keys, 2004). On the flip side, chili farming has established an informal labour market in the region and has led to increases in wealth and status among some smallholders (Keys, 2004).

II.Ui.iv. Conservation Movement

The Calakmul region has international attention for its archaeological sites and its tropical forest. In 1998, the most important archaelogical site, "Calakmul", was declared a

30 "Cultural Heritage site for Humanity" by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and

Cultural Organization). The site is amidst die one of the largest tropical forest in the world, second to the Amazon Basin in Brazil, and has a total surface area of 1 105 748 hectares: where

721 948 hectares is the protected area and 383 800 hectares are buffer zones (Boege, 1995,

Manosur, 1995). In 1989, this region became a protected area known as the Biosphere Reserve of Calakmul and in 1993 was registered in UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Program (Turner etal.,2004).

This tropical zone has received international attention because of its ecological importance: "these types of forests are a large source and sink of atmospheric carbon and the support the majority of the world's terrestrial biotic diversity and net primary productivity"

(Turner et al., 2004, pg. 3). Their loss due to deforestation and land conversion "increase the vulnerability of various human-environment systems to the perturbations and stresses of climate and other effects global climate warming and diminished biodiversity (Turner et al., 2004, pg.

3).

The Calakmul's residents did not respond positively to the creation of the biosphere. At this time, communities in Calakmul were lacking services such as schools, health care facilities, and the infrastructure and transportations services were poor (Haenn, 2000). Wirti die establishment of the Biosphere Reserve, Haenn (2000) describes that the "Calakmul's people had litde respect for government efforts of promising economic development" (pg. 15). Haenn

(2000) states that the reserve breached two conditions of the social contract of the NCPE program: first, it took future land from die ejidos and therefore limited die potential of expanding dieir agricultural base. Moreover, farmers were direatened with relocation; fortunately this did

31 not pan out. Second, the Reserve's existence meant greater enforcement of regulations in respect to hunting and the felling and burning of forests - for subsistence swidden farmers, these regulations posed a direct threat to their livelihoods. As Haenn (2000) puts it:

The overall consensus behind the conservation movement of the government, was that conservation laws allowed the government to take with one hand what it gave with another. As one man explained: If the government prohibits something on the land it donates, why does it donate the land? (pg. 21).

II.lv. BROAD INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT

After 40 years as a tightly closed economy, in the early 1980s the Mexican economy began to open up as result of freemarke t policies and by 1986, Mexico had entered into the General

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Ruiz, 2007). It was not until the 1990s that the effects of trade liberalization had an impact on the agricultural sector: "tariffs on most products were dropped or drastically lowered, subsidies on inputs were withdrawn or sharply reduced, and a guaranteed price was eliminated for all crops but maize and beans" (Klepeis & Vance, pg. 227). In 1994,

Mexico joined NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement); according to the agreement,

Mexico liberalized completely its agriculture, includingits staple crops of maize and beans, over a 15-year period. Also during this period there were changes to Article 27 of the Mexican

Constitution to amend the land-tenure form of the ejido: "with the new reform ejido lands were permitted to be bought and sold, ejidatarias now had the right to enter into business arrangements with outside investors and obtain private tides to their lands" (Klepeis & Chowdry,

2004, pg. 151). It was anticipated from the Mexican authorities that these legal reforms would help to "capitalize the countryside and open productive options" (Klepeis & Vance, 2003, pg.

227).

32 Complementing the new land reform was the introduction of alternative income support mechanism; their intention was to "delink the extension of aid from the direct command of production decisions" (Klepeis & Chowdry, 2004, pg. 151-152). The most important was the government subsidy program, PROCAMPO10, Program for Direct Assistance in Agriculture;

PROCAMPO replaced crop-based subsidies with direct payments on a fixed cultivated area until die year 2010, which corresponded to NAFTA's agreement on phasing out all agrarian price

supports (Klepeis & Vance, 2003). Klepeis and Chowdry (2004) explain "because aid is not tied to die cultivation of a specific crop, the terms of PROCAMPO are intended to be consistent wkh die increased autonomy conferred by die legal changes of Article 27" (pg. 152).

Government officials assumed tiiat since the area was fixed over the life span of die program and

since swidden farming requires a forest-fallow land use system, agricultural production of ejidatarios would dien necessarily become more intensified and as a result, "would make farmers more competitive in international commodity markets and give diem an incentive to modernize

their agricultural practices" (Klepeis & Vance, 2003, pg. 224). Furthermore, intensification of

agriculture would also decrease pressure on die remaining forest and hence, reduce

deforestation (Klepeis & Vance, 2003). Therefore, die primary goal of PROCAMPO was to

support agricultural modernization during die transition from state intervention to free market policies in the rural sector; die secondary goal was to decrease environmental degradation

dirough die promotion of more efficient land use (Klepeis & Vance, 2003).

Klepeis and Vance (2003) state that in order to intensify agriculture in the Calakmul region three realistic factors need to be addressed: physical isolation, die scarcity of water, and die need for chemical inputs. The audiors state diat it is beyond the scope of the smallholders

PROCAMPO in Spanish means Programa deApoyo Directos al Campo 33 alone to resolve these requirements, moreover, the help they did receive from the government in the form of PROCAMPO's land payments were too small (US$64 per hectare - fixed in real terms) to stimulate change in cropping strategies (Klepeis and Vance, 2003). Odier studies conducted elsewhere in Mexico, regarded die support program as welfare (de Janvry, Gordillo, &

Sadoulet, 1997; Myhre, 1998 taken from Klepeis & Chowdry, 2004). Klepeis & Vance (2003) state diat die smallholders of Calakmul are faced with a dilemma: "without the basic land- augmenting inputs it is difficult to attract investment in agricultural modernization because of die high risk of crop failure and without significant capital investment, however, die ejidatarios are unable to overcome diese limiting factors" (Klepeis & Vance, 2003, pg. 23 7). Moreover, legal amendments regarding land reform have not met expectations: Klepeis & Vance (2003) state diat up to die present "no ejidas in the region have moved to a private property system" (pg.

227); diey explain that ejidatrios "see limited scope for using dieir land as collateral to obtain credit" (pg. 237). Currendy, PROCAMPO contributes significandy to die income of ejidatarios

(Stedman-Edwards, 1997).

II.v. CURRENT & FUTURE OUTLOOK

In summary, smallholders in the Calakmul region are faced with limited alternatives to income earning strategies resulting in the reliance of farming die only profitable cash crop in the region, jalapeno chili. The restraints that these smallholders face are:

1. Ecological: poor soil quality, risky climate conditions, and scarce water sources

2. Financial: limited access to affordable credit markets

34 3. Labour: possibilities to sell labour are limited to certain times of year, for example during the harvest period.

4. Technological: lack of income limits farmers to rely on swidden agriculture instead of mechanized farming; moreover, farmers have had limited success in adopting new cropping strategies (Mercer, 2005).

5. Market access: diree principal intermediary buyers have monopoly of the informal chili market in Calakmul.

6. Development policy: concurrently, conservation projects and economic development projects, each with a specific agenda, are undermining their effectiveness: conservation projects encourage die adoption of different resource use pattern such as sustainable forest management and the reduction of subsistence farming, while the government subsidy program,

PROCAMPO , is an incentive to increase production of subsistence crops.

Some of the ongoing private sector initiatives are wildlife management, ecotourism, faunal management projects, timber programs, organic agriculture, reforestation, apiculture, environmental education, and fairtrade markets for chili and/or honey (Boege, 1995).

Agroforestry initiatives have been introduced in several of the communities in Calakmul, but widi mixed success; Mercer (2005) states that in order to increase "the likelihood of sustained adoption requires intensive and continuing technical assistance, education and advice as well as the active participation of the farmers in identifying attractive and viable alternatives" (pg. 181).

A future initiative includes international and national plans to make the region part of the

El Mundo Maya- an international ecotourism scheme. The development scheme uses nature as a

Through PROCAMPO, farmers receive "a fixed sum for each hectare of land planted in one often subsistence crops, including corn, beans, and rice" (Haenn, 2000, pg. 17). 35 commodity to develop an archaeo-tourism, and to facilitate tourists to have access to the region die government has funded substantial road improvements, new road construction and electrification. Stedman-Edwards (1997) state diat the growth of tourism in the region offers prospects for both economic improvement and a stimulus to conservation only if die development is planned carefully.

Currently, the farmers in Calakmul feel that the Biosphere Reserve is impeding rtieir freedom to do what diey want with their land. Introducing alternative livelihood strategies that encompass sustainable management practices in the long run not only offers a solution to their current situation but also has die potential to be a sustainable venture among private partnerships. Widi some innovative marketing strategies, die push of conservation policies, if applied effectively, can act as a leverage to development; moreover, since the Biosphere Reserve increasingly is receiving international attention and diere is a growing recognition diat conservation cannot be done in isolation, i.e. it must encompass community participation, the

Reserve can be seen as a source for networking businesses partners widi a social and environmental conscious. Future research in connecting private businesses and social entrepreneurs (such as NGOs) with die Calakmul communities can enable a solid network to be established and private ventures to take off.

36 CHAPTER III. PREVIOUS RESEARCH

IH.t. BACKGROUND TO ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES IN RURAL ECONOMIES

In 1999, the Ecological Anthropology Research Department in El Colegio de la

Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) initiated a research program in Calakmul with the purpose of investigating how migrants adapted to their new environment (Gurri et al., 2002). Before looking at this study, we will examine the discipline of Ecological Anthropology, the concept of adaptive strategies, and finally, the so-called 'Agrarian question' and the assumptions underlying a peasant economy.

III.Li. Human/Environment Relationship

The discipline of Ecological Anthropology evolved from a prior discipline known as

Cultural Ecology. The pioneer of Cultural Ecology was Julian Steward (1955) and he was the first to question the influence of the natural environment on culture. Steward sought to identify the aspects of a particular culture that are most influenced by its biophysical environment. He began his investigation by first examining those natural resources that the society depends on for survival and then examining the cultural aspects associated with this, such as technology used to extract and process them and the ways the society organizes work in order to accomplish this

(Sponsel, 2003). Steward (1955) argued that the cultural feature most strongly related to the environment was resource utilization, in particular relating to use of technology {takenfrom

Reitz& Wing, 1999).

The influence of the environment on culture is only one side of the human/environment relationship. Steward (1955) states that "cultures and environments are part of a total web of life

—where each can be defined in terms of the other, with environment playing an active, reciprocal

37 role in human affairs rather than a determining or passive one" (pg. 33). It is a two-way process: a group may change its strategies or tools in order to make better use of a particular environment; it may use new elements in that environment; it may change its environment by moving away altogether; or a group's interaction may change the environment itself (Sponsel,

2003). Thus ecological anthropologists have studied the effects that human groups have on their environment as well as the ways these groups adapt to it.

Ill.i.ii. Adaptive Strategies

The term adaptation is used not only in biology but also in anthropology (Alland, 1975).

Adaptation refers to the dynamic processes of interaction between population and ecosystem and adaptability refers to the capacity to respond successfully to changes that challenge survival and well-being (Sponsel, 2003). Human Ecology, a sub-discipline to Ecological Anthropology, has applied an ecological approach to Human Adaptation and as a result, has made the shift in evolutionary thinking from stages of development to a more dynamic view of processes (Alland,

1975). Alland (1975) states that "such a framework allows die anthropologist to generalize from specific cases of human behaviour to general processes of biological adaptation" (pg. 60).

He explains that this approach of understanding human adaptation does not consider the

"cause" so much as to explain the "function"; he states that what is important is to "deal with what 'is' radier than with some ideal adaptive system" (Alland, 1975, pg. 61). Therefore, studies of ecological anthropology attempt to provide a materialist explanation of human society and culture as products of adaptation to given environmental conditions.

How do humans adapt to their new environments? In Human Ecological terms, in order to sustain a livelihood and reproduce ourselves, we adapt by forming groups (Reitz and Wing,

38 1999). The smallest grouping unit is the household, and even diough the household may vary throughout the world, the common elements are sharing of food, living under the same 'roof (or space if the household is made up of a cluster of houses), and organizing members in daily activities (Hammel, 1980). In rural peasant communities it is at die household level diat important decision are made, such as well-being of its members, how land use is organized for agriculture, how wealth is distributed and the size and composition of the household due to marriage (Gurri, 2001). It is the interaction of all diese elements diat constitute an "adaptive strategy" of a particular household (Gurri, 2001).

Ill.i.iii. Agrarian Question

The term peasant economy refers to modes of rural economic activity with certain defined characteristics: first, die basic unit of production is die household; second, die majority of household income is derived from agricultural production and it is assumed that die household is dependent upon its own labor; and third, peasant households are assumed to be conservative and resistant to changes (http://www.answers.com/topic/peasant-economy). Peasant farming in developing nations has persisted in the face of industrial and capitalist agricultural growtli diroughout die world; this is knows as die 'Agrarian question' (ERA Project). The Agrarian

Question exists in the first place because it is working under die assumption diat what it means to be an 'economic individual' is a rational, self-interested individual who equates higher well being with die motto "more is better". Following this assumption dien, in die quest to improve one's livelihood, profitable market incentives would naturally lure a peasant farmer from subsistence farming activities to market engaged activities; however, as mentioned, not all peasant farmers in the world have made this shift.

39 One response to the Agrarian Question challenges the assumption of self-interested of individuals. A school of thought called the 'Moral Economy' argues that peasant households resist the commercialization of agriculture because it violates their values and beliefs, regarding economic exchange - pure market engagement would replace the patterns of interaction among personal networks with impersonal transactions (ERA Project). Backed up by the "substantivist" school in anthropology, the moral economy rests on the central principle of embeddedness where "economic integration is molded, in its ends and instruments, by noneconomic forces"

(Booth, 1994, pg. 653). Karl Polanyi( 1977) argued for abreak of embeddedness in modernization; he described that economic behaviour was heavily embedded in social relations in premarket societies but became much more autonomous with modernization where

"economic transactions were defined no longer by the social or kinship obligations of diose transacting but by rational calculations of individual gain" (Granovetter, 1985, pg. 482).

However, there have been several critiques of the moral economy stance; the primary one is that it "over idealizes the normative dimensions of pre-market societies"; and as Granovetter (1985) puts it, the embeddedness stance is an "oversocialized conception of human action" (pg. 483).

Anottier response to the Agrarian Question challenges the assumption of individuals' decision-making process based on the motto "more is better". In 19 24, a Russian economist by the name of Alexander Chayanov published a book called The Theory of Peasant Economy

(1986) where his primary premise was that die laws of classical economics do not apply to the peasant economy. He argued that the production in a household is not based upon the profit motive but rather die calculations of satisfaction as consumers and workers (Answers.com).

Chayanov assumed that family farms are units of botti production and consumption and die

40 primary motive for these peasant families is to provide a minimum standard of livelihood for die family (ERA Project). He described peasants' primary interest as use value, which he measures according to his consumption-labour balance principle: work would only be intensified until the gains from any further increases in work input would be outweighed by its "drudgery" (ERA

Project). Thus the amount of work done by the individual working members of a household will be inversely related to die number of dependent consumers they have to support. The higher the ratio of non-working children to workers in a household, the harder die productive members will have to work. (ERA Project). This explains why it is often found that children are working on peasant farms.

Furthermore, Chayanov does not exclude market activities in order to achieve diis goal; for Chayanov, peasant farmers primary purpose is satisfy subsistence levels of the family and may

achieve this by subsistence farming as well as market-related activities. He explains a market transaction is "about meeting needs, not making money as an end in itself" (ERA Project).

Chayanov's model was developed widiin abroad contextual environment occurring in

Russia at die time: "peasants were faced with particular problems of land scarcity, and most of them lacked alternative possibilities of employment" (ERA Project). It is important to highlight

diese conditions because if these constraints did not exist, Chayanov's model would not be

applicable (ERA Project). Chayanov's assumptions of these 'special' conditions allowed him to

determine the peasant households' economic behaviour: "the need to achieve some minimum

standard of consumption or income, and that peasants would respond to problems in achieving

die minimum by working harder on die farm" (ERA Project).

41 III.it. STUDY ON FAMILY ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES IN CALAKMUL

From 1999 to 2002, the Ecological Anthropology Department of ECOSUR created a research team that investigated the adaptive strategies of migrants to the Calakmul region,

Campeche (Gurri et al., 2002). They studied "500 families in the 32 most recently formed communities" (Gurri, 2007, pg. 85). They identified two strategies developed by the families: household subsistence agricultural strategy (HSA) and household commercial agricultural

strategy (HCA).

Ill.ii.i. Calakmul an Opportune Site

A population will adapt to a new environment by developing strategies; however the

length of tlieir interaction with the environment reduces the different kinds of strategies that households adopt; this phenomena has been termed by Hackenberg (19 74) as ecosystem

channeling (Gurri, 2001). Macro-level changes affect the dynamics between a population and its

environment. For example, the introduction of new populations or new market systems,

prolonged or repeated environmental disasters, and migration to areas where the environment is

distinct from the 'home' environment (Gurri et al., 2002). These macro-level changes cause an

initial coexistence of a diverse set of adaptive strategies chosen by the family units; this

phenomenon is known as radiation adaptive strategies (Wilk 1997).

As mentioned in section II, beginning in the 1970s, people from all over die Mexican

Republic migrated to the Calakmul region and created a heterogeneous group of almost 25,000

people today. The diverse character of its people is due to differences in culture, ethnicity, geographical and regional political influences, agricultural practices, and lifestyle (Farfan,

1996), affects the type of adaptive strategies developed. The commonalities drat all these 42 migrants shared when arriving in their new home was the exposure to an unique ecosystem

(Boege, 1995), and a different political environment, in the form of policies, subsidies, government programs, and outside development assistance (Haenn, 2005). Hence, all newly arrived settlers experienced a macro-level change in their environment. Therefore, the features of this particular migration- a short adaptation period (only 20-30 years), a heterogeneous population, and a foreign ecological and political environment- makes the Calakmul region an opportune place to study the phenomenon of radiation adaptivestrategiesof the family unit

(Gurrietal.,2002).

III.ii.il. Typology of Adaptive Strategies

Gurri (2007) explains "to adapt to a new environment, people come together in functional associations known as adaptive strategies" (pg. 84). Characteristic features of the household can affect these functional associations (Gurri et al., 2002) and as a result can have serious consequences on die members' well being, i.e. its adaptability to a new environment.

According to Wilk (1997) the characteristic features of the household can be conceptualized from three axes: morphological, activity, and cultural. Household characteristics are dynamic and may change over time and each axis influences the odier, yet they are not totally dependent

(Gurri, 2001). The morphological axis describes the household according to its relationship between its members, common place of residence, number of family members, and material resources at its disposal (Wilk 1997). The second axis describes die household on the basis of its members' the activities, which can be grouped according to productive activities, inheritance, distribution, biological and social reproduction, and degree to which activities are shared for the development, improvement and maintenance of the household (Wilk & Netting, 1984; Wilke &

43 Rathje, 1982). Finally, the cultural dimension of the household is known as 'the system of the household' (Netting et al. 1984) and for analysis purposes, it can be divided into "rules" and

"strategies" (Carter, 1984). Carter (1984) defines the 'rules' in the system to sanction patterns of command, recruitment, management of property, division of family and its resources; he describes die 'strategies' to refer to the management and pattern of decisions made by family members inside the framework of rules (Gurri, 2001). Therefore, the cultural axis of the household shapes behavior and limits the freedom of action of individual members (Gurri,

2001).

III.It.iil. Nature and Logic of Strategy Type

After applying eight different types of surveys on 500 households over a 3-year period, die Ecological Andiropology Research Team (EART) found that the families of Calakmul have developed subsistence mechanisms over the past 30 years that have resulted in a differentiation and coexistence of two adaptive strategies (Gurri et al., 2002). The common features among all the participants in dieir study are the planting of the cash crop, jalapeno pepper (Capsicum annum) and the planting of a subsistence crop, maize {Zeamays); however, the strategies differ in how they organize to produce, family structure, household composition, agricultural productive goals, and the way they deal with the food scarcity season before harvest (Gurri et al.,

2002; Alayon and Gurri 2007).

According to Gurri et al.'s (2002) study, 55 percent of the sample practice the household subsistence agricultural strategy; all of these families had been farmers in their native lands. This Traditional'group practices agriculture as a diversified and conservative survival strategy (Gurri et al., 2002). These families are considered to be patriarchal composite

44 households, where the 'family' includes one household head, the father, mother, married sons and their wives, grandchildren, and unmarried daughters and sons. The sons of the household head help in the farm, and when the grandchildren are old enough, they too work on the farm at certain times of the year (Gurri et al., 2002).

The household head makes most of the strategic, productive and distributive decisions in the Traditional group (Gurri, 2001). This vertical decision-making structure creates disincentives for the younger adult producers of the family to invest in capital goods because they have no control over their use, nor do they have access to them when these young men create their own households (Gurri et al., 2002). It is common that young adult males will often participate in on-farm manual labour for cash (Gurri, 2001) and as long as the son continues to resides in his parent's home, his extra income is usually spent on consumer goods such as food, clothing, radios, stereos and furniture (Gurri et al., 2002).

The overall production strategy for this group is for subsistence and the staple crops produced are corn, beans, a variety of fruit from el solar (house garden), which may be sold in small quantities in the local market. The Traditional group also cultivates jalapeno chili to obtain some income. The families in this group generally do not generate savings, so when they need money they sell jalapeno chili (Capsicum annum L.), participate in paid on and off-farm labour and take advantage of government programs, such as development projects and the subsidy programs of Oportunidades12 and Procampo (Gurri, 2007).

45% of the study sample practice household commercial agriculture (HCA) strategy.

Some of these families may not have been farmers before moving to Calakmul; however, all of

A subsidy program paid out to the mothers to ensure children are attending school. More said on this in Chapter V, section V.i. 45 them consider their land in Calakmul as an opportunity to make money. Hence, diis Capitalist group practices agriculture as a family business (Gurri et al., 2002). In contrast with the

Traditional group, the adult children of HCA families separate from their parents' home when they get married. Gurri et al. (2002) explain it is common that the married sons build their own homes on die same solar (house garden) of die parents and as a result, one finds a cluster of extended families living in close proximity. Although the father coordinates the productive

system of the household, unlike die Traditional group, diere is an interchange of goods with manual labour between the extended family. The married sons and their family are semi- independent: the married sons work on die fadier's plot of land and in repayment they may receive awage, especially during harvest time, and access to the father's capital resources, such

as his truck and chainsaw (Gurri et al., 2002). Over time, die married sons receive a portion of the father's land for which diey have full control over its management strategies.

The Capitalist group also participates in raising livestock. In the context of rural

developing nations, the raising of livestock, especially cattle, is a type of durable capital and one

of the only ways to develop savings13 (World Bank, 2002). Before the harvest, resources are

scarce and farmers may need to sell catde to purchase food or other necessary survival items; also

during the harvest time of jalapeno chili farmers need immediate cash to pay their pickers (Gurri

etal 2002). To prepare the land to house the cattle, i.e. create pastureland is a cosdy endeavor

in Calakmul. The married sons have access to dieir fadiers' pasture lands, as well as odier capital goods; diis is an opportunity for them to invest in cattle and develop savings (Gurri et al., 2002).

It not common that Calakmul farmers save money in bank accounts, this is possibly due to the traveling cost incurred to reaching the bank and the difficult application procedure to receive a bank account. 46 The general productive strategy for the Capitalist group is to produce for the market, most importantly, by cultivating chili, second, by cultivating other cash crops, such as citrus fruits, and third, by renting their pastureland to other farmers. This group also engages in non- farm work opportunities outside of the Calakmul region. They invest in agrochemicals, use tractors, hire outside labor to help them during harvest. They generate savings when they sell their jalapefio crop. These savings are used to invest in capital goods, to buy cattle or to open bank accounts. Furthermore, as the young families of this group, the married sons, have their own homes, lands and complete control over their resources, there is an incentive for them to invest in capital goods that can develop their productive capacity.

Ill.iuiv. Comparative Measures for Strategy Type

Apart from their study of the family adaptive strategies of the migrants of Calakmul, the

EART also conducted research in assessing how vulnerable (Alayon et A., in process) and sustainable each agricultural system is (Alayon & Gurri, 2007®), and the relative adaptability levels of the two adaptive strategies in adolescents during the scarcity season (Alayon, 2006;

Alayon & Gurri, 2007).

Vulnerability is defined as "the characteristic of a group, and their situation that influence their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impacts of a natural hazard factor; this effects the social, productive, economic, cultural and ecological components of a population" (Alayon et al., inprocess, pg. 1). Smallholders of the Calakmul region live with extreme climate conditions from droughts to heavy rains and hurricanes (Boege, 1995). The peasant farmers have developed livelihood strategies coupled with their ecological and social environment that has allowed them to reduce overall vulnerability to climate shocks (Alayon et

47 A., in process). The ECOSUR research team conducted a vulnerability study (Alayon et 2l.,in process) to examine the local peasants' response to ex-ante and expost Hurricane Isidore by

comparing productivity and economic profitability of the commercial crop jalapeno chili

{Capsicum annum) and die subsistence crop maize (the milpa) between the two strategy groups.

Eight families from three communities participated in this study: four families belonged to the

HSA strategy and four families from die HCA strategy.

The research team administered household surveys to participants to obtain information

on die 1999-2003 agricultural cycle, such as the surface area and production obtained in

agriculture, and die labour invested in different daily activities for each family member (Alayon et

al., inprocess). The conducted household mondily interviews to assess die percent of damaged

plants, labour invested, time spent on decision making to sow the milpa, use of agrochemicals,

and die type of activities performed in agricultural fields and time invested for each activity for

die 2002-2003 agricultural cycle. They also measured sixteen random plots of maize and

jalapeno chili to assess crop production (Alayon et al., inprocess). They found that die HSA

group developed better resilient management strategies dian die HCA group. The HSA families

invested more time in family work ex-post hurricane and had an earlier sowing period for dieir

maize plots than die HCA families, as a result, this group experienced a higher maize crop

production in comparison to die HCA group. In contrast, it was found that the HCA families

invested more resources to recover their economic investment in jalapeno pepper. This group's

strategy was to increase wage labour on the cash crop while decreasing the family labour on the

maize crop, and delay die cultivation of the maize crop. As result die Capitalist group had

smaller corn production for self-consumption and comparable economic profitability of the cash

48 crop to the higher maize yields of the Traditional group (Alayon et al., inprocess). Alayon et al. conclude that the Traditional (HSA) strategy is a less vulnerable system to climate shocks, for examples hurricanes, than the Capitalist (HCA) strategy.

A Sustainability study was conducted on the same households that participated in the

Vulnerability study. Agricultural productive systems, or agro-systems, are similar to natural ecosystems in that they use and transform energy for its' functioning (Odum, 1998). The primary sources of energy that circulates within these agro-systems are solar radiation and energy from andiropogenic sources (Gliessman, 2002). The sustainability and efficiency of an agro-system depends on its energy balance and is expressed through the proportional relationship of energy production per unit of energy invested (Tellarini <#«/., 1999). Alayon &

Gurri (2007A) conducted a study of energy flow and balance of die agro-systems, household subsistence agriculture (HSA) and household commercial agriculture (HCA) on 8 families, where half of the sample belonged to each strategy type. For each agro-system, it was divided in three subsystems: the agricultural plot otimilpa, the agricultural plot of jalapeno chili and a plot of home gardens (Alayon & Gurri, 2007A). Alayon & Gurri (2007A) measured the production and the investment of energy sources of 16 randomly placed 100m2 plots and analyzed the data obtained using an input-output matrix from which generated a sustainability index.

Their findings for the sustainability measures indicate that the Capitalist farming system is more intensive, i.e. uses more energy for its functioning, than the Traditional farming system and it was found that the Traditional farming system had a higher value of the sustainability index

(Alayon & Gurri (2007A). The Traditional strategy depends on biological energy of family

49 members i.e. the family work on the farm, solar energy and exhibits ahigh level of interchangeable energy between the parcels, home gardens, and complementary agricultural

subsystems; while the Capitalist strategy depends on non-renewable external energy, biological

energy of outsiders i.e. salaried labourers work on the farm and exhibits a low level of

interchangeable energy between the parcels, home gardens, and complementary agricultural

subsystems (Alayon and Gurri (200 7A). The authors state that the Traditional strategy is a self-

sufficient and sustainable agro-system and where the Capitalist strategy is a dependent and non-

sustainable agro-system (Alayon and Gurri (200 7A)

The ECOSUR research team conducted a study to evaluate the relative Adaptability

levels of the two adaptive strategies in adolescents during the scarcity season (Alayon & Gurri,

2007). A well-established measure for adaptability is children's growdi and nutritional status

because they are responsive to environmental quality and dierefore provide a robust index of

general population health (WHO, 1995). Alayon & Gurri (2007) explain that "traditional

agricultural societies are exposed to yearly cycles of food scarcity and abundance which affect

individual energy balance" (pg. 751); moreover, it is common to find energy deficiency among

these peasant farmers during of food scarcity (Alayon & Gurri, 2007). In Calakmul, this scarcity

season extends from around the middle of July to the third week of October, before the harvest

(Gurri, 2007). Duringthis time, the decrease of total energy consumption occurs alongside the

maintenance of physical activity level (Alayon & Gurri, 2007). Alayon & Gurri (2007) explain

(pgs. 751-752):

.. .die body responds through a reduction in body mass, which in turn leads to a reduction of BMR (basal metabolic rate) (Ferro-Luzzi et al., 1990)...children and adolescents are particularly sensitive as a negative energy balance can affect rtieirgrowt h and development (Desai et al., 1984)

50 In a time allocation and anthropometric study, Alayon & Gurri (2007) estimated physical levels and measured body composition to evaluate how well peasant adolescents from

Calakmul maintain energy balance throughout the year. This study was performed on 46 male and 38 female adolescents froml 6 households: 8 households belonging to the Capitalist group and 8 households belonging to the Traditionalgroup. They found that the Capitalist group did not show significant losses of weight where as the Traditional group lost weight by reducing their BMI during the scarcity season and children under 10 stopped growing during this period; furthermore, the females in the Capitalist group lost body fat where as the females in the

Traditional group lost lean muscle mass. Therefore, the researchers concluded that the

Capitalist strategy offers their adolescents better buffering against seasonal scarcity compared to the Traditional strategy.

Some possible explanations for their findings are as follows. Capitalist households use monetary savings or sell cattle to tide them over the scarcity season; by contrast, the Traditional households must find alternative food sources in the forests and fallow fields, which require the expenditure of energy. Although the Traditionalhouseholds can also make money as agricultural laborers, at this time of the year, there are few jobs available. Gurri (2007) states that because a Traditional strategy depends on family labor, adolescents in the Traditional group

—particularly girls—drop out of school and reduce the time they spend in recreational activities.

Ill.ii.v. Summary

Immigrant peasant households have developed two distinct adaptive strategies in their new environment, each reflecting a different agricultural practice (Gurri et al., 2002). It is assumed households that emigrate from the same environment have similar cultural features and 51 land use experience and initially will apply these cultural practices to generate adaptive strategies in their new environment (Gurri, 2001). It was found that families that have emigrated from the same area in Mexico did not necessarily practice the same agricultural productive system.

The focus of Household Commercial farming is to engage in market activities that will render a profit and to invest in capital goods in order to expand their productive system. The

focus of Household Traditional farming is to engage in subsistence activities that assure stability

in consumption throughout the year by investing time and effort in diverse productive activities.

All households in their study were found to engage in Jalapeno Chili farming. Commercial households reinvest some of their earnings to crop development where as traditional households

spend their earnings to pay prior debts and/or consumption. Regarding die relative

measurements of vulnerability, sustainability and adaptability of the strategy, Gurri (2007) states

thatbodi strategies have advantages and disadvantages: "while HSAis a more resilient (i.e. less vulnerable) and sustainable strategy than HCA, die latter offers their members abetter quality of

life (i.e. more adaptable), and, because they do not drop out of school, it offers their youngsters

greater expectations and opportunities for the future" (pg. 88). Alayon (2006) states that the

option between a conventional system and a traditional system, at least in Calakmul, depends on

cultural preferences, environmental constraints and expectations for life diat each family has

generated.

52 CHAPTER IV, METHODOLOGY & DATA USAGE

IV.L VISITS TO THE COMMUNITIES

This study was conducted in two communities in the southeastern corner of Calakmul:

Cristobal Colon, about 30 kilometers south of the capital, Xpujil, and Las Carmelas (also known as El Carmen II), about 45 kilometers from the capital city. Both communities are ejidos and all the participants are ejidatarios (own land), cultivate Jalapeno chili, and live in die community die majority of die year. The two communities were founded around the same time and therefore, its pioneers have the same experience cultivating and selling Jalapeno chili. The principal differences between the two communities are the origin and firstlanguag e of die immigrants diat live in die communities. I made two trips to the Calakmul region, die firsttri p was in June, 2006 with researcher Dr. Armando Alayon, who conducted his Phd. research in the region; the second trip was in July, 2006, where I was on my own to conduct semi-informal interviews and apply the questionnaires.

As Armando Alayon had conducted extensive research in the area over a tiiree year period, he had personal contacts with several families in these communities. In our visit to

Calakmul, we visited eleven communities south of Xpujil and I had die opportunity to become acquainted with numerous families with whom we made informal visits. This firsttri p helped me identify the communities in which to do field work. In the community of Cristobal Colon, I met unos compardres of Armando, Dona Lucia and family. They welcomed me into their home and

Compadreis, a term often used in Mexico to refer to a close, non-kin relationship; however, the degree of closeness is equated with a blood relative; plus Armando is thepadrino, godfather, to their youngest daughter of 3 years (at the time of our visit). 53 encouraged me to stay with them on my return. This is how I established my 'home base' for the fieldwork.

From this initial trip with Armando, I quickly realized that some communities were more open to outsiders than others. I found that in Cristobal Colon and Las Carmelas all the people we spoke to to be open and friendly. This firsttri p was extremely useful as it introduced me to the area and enabled me to make some personal contacts of my own that would later become essential when I was to conduct my own fieldwork. I found that it was important to have a key link in the community because, as an outsider, and more so as a female foreigner, it is difficult to enter these marginal communities without any personal connection to a local.

A couple of weeks later I returned to the Calakmul region, this time alone. My intention was to visit the two communities of Cristobal Colon and Las Carmelas. I took a 5-hour bus ride from Campeche City to Xpujil and then from the municipal capital, a one-hour taxi ride to

Cristobal Colon. I mention these details because this is how I made my second key link- the taxi driver from Xpujil. Don Alfredo was from Las Carmelas and during die drive he offered me his help to find accommodation in his community. After I completed my stay in Cristobal Colon, I went to Las Carmelas to locate the home of Don Alfredo. He introduced me to Don Aurelio and family who have had experience receiving outside visitors in the past. They opened up their home to me and I stayed with them for the entire duration of my stay in Las Carmelas.

I will address the interview process for each community separately. Before arriving in

Calakmul, I had a list of names that had previously participated in Gurri et al. 's (2002) study (26 households in Cristobal Colon and 28 households in Las Carmelas) and I also had data on the adaptive strategy for each household. Once I arrived in Cristobal Colon, I showed Dona Lucia

54 the list of possible participants. We went through the names and she told me where they lived in the community and who would definitely not be able to participate as they were working outside

Calakmul. Dona Lucia recruited her daughter, Natalie, to accompany me to ask those members

of the community who were on the list if they would like to participate in my study. All diat week,

Natalie & I visited these people and arranged meeting times widi diose who were willing to be part of the study. When I had my days full with interviews, Natalie continued to contact the people on die list so by die time I arrived 'home', she had me booked for die next couple of days.

Needless to say, her assistance was an immense help in finding participants for die study.

The actual interview process in Cristobal Colon went smoothly: everyone I spoke widi was receptive to my questions and offered more detail tiian anticipated. This information gave

me a greater understanding of the context behind each question. Altiiough I calculated the

interviews to last about an hour, in most cases, we would engage in an anecdotal dialogue and I would end spending up to 2-3 hours talking widi die participant and his family.

In Las Carmelas, I was confronted widi some challenges when searching for participants.

I received assistance from Don Alfredo's eldest daughter. She informed me where die people on

my list resided; however she did not offer to accompany me to locate the people, and I did not

ask. I ventured on my own to introduce myself to those members of die community who were on

die list, hoping to receive a similar positive response as in Cristobal Colon. The first few people

I spoke with were responsive and agreed to be part of die study. As all diese people had been

interviewed before in Gurri et al.'s (2002) study, tiieywer e familiar with ECOSUR and by

mentioning my involvement widi ECOSUR, connected me to areliable link. However, diere were several cases where people were reluctant to speak widi or just flat refused to talk to me. I

55 believe there are a couple factors in play in these situations: first, the families had become suspicious of ECOSUR's involvement in the community; second, because I was unaccompanied,

I did not have a direct link with die community, as was the case in Cristobal Colon whh Natalie formally introducing me to community members. This may have caused people to be apprehensive about speaking widi me, as there was no trust in place.

After a couple of days in Las Carmelas, I befriended a local named Antonio, who offered to introduce me to those people who were the on die list15. Antonio spent his childhood and adolescent years in die community but currently lives in Campeche city and works as a secondary schoolteacher; he returns to die community during his holidays. He is a well-known and respected individual in the community and up to-date, he is the only person in Las Carmelas who has received a university education. Once accompanied by Antonio, I received a positive response from all die participants: everyone we approached agreed to be part of die study and was responsive to my questions. Antonio also helped during die interview process as he introduced me to the participants in dieir native tongue, Choi; even though almost everyone in die community speaks Spanish, this gesture of addressing diem initially in their own language seemed to break die ice immediately.

In summary, two questionnaires were applied to 26 heads of households, all male, in two communities. The principal questionnaire focuses on the transactions pertinent to the jalapeno chili production process and how social relationships facilitate these transactions. The second questionnaire investigates the demographic characteristics of the household members.

Participants were selected on a volunteer basis. All die interviews in both communities were

As my study was building on Gurri et al. 's (2002) study it was important that I knew the adaptive strategy for each household, hence, I had to select my participants from their study sample. 56 conducted in Spanish except for two interviews where Antonio translated a few of the questions in Choi. All the interviews were conducted in die families' homes and all die family members were present except for one interview in Cristobal Colon. As mentioned, die household head responded to die questions; however, die wife often offered a response or corrected die husband when recollecting a certain purchase. For 8 out of the 28 interviews, a third party, i.e. not a family member, was present: in Cristobal Colon, one interview was conducted widi a third party1 and in Las Carmelas, Antonio was present during die interview process for seven participants. Appendix 1 describes the fieldwork process: die Field Diary, Itinerary of People I

Metwitii, and Lessons Learned.

IV.ii. CONSTRUCTION OF OJJESTIONNAIRE

It is a daunting task to examine all die possible social interactions of an individual tiiat could effect his /her economic transactions. Apart from diis type of investigation being too vast in scope, it can lead to missing information and an over-emphasis of certain types of relationships

(Lin, 2005). For example, most people will recall more easily strong social links when asked to recollect a relationship diat facilitate the access to resources and income opportunities (Lin,

1999); however, diey are likely to forget diose weak links diat play an important role in accessing a job tip or new information (Granovetter, 1985). For these reasons, this study examines specific economic transactions diat die individual has engaged in in die past. I developed a questionnaire diat examines die economic transactions of die peasant household relating to the production process of jalapeno chili and die value added diat social engagement has on diese

Natalie sat in for the entire interview as a silent third party. 57 transactions. The intent of this study is to demonstrate a typology of social organizations and mechanisms as a resource that die household can access in the functioning of die family farm.

IV.ii.i. Jalapeno Chili Production Process

To create a questionnaire diat examines the transactions of chili farming, I examined die production process as a system, and I began by investigating all die possible pertinent factors associated witii diis system. Developing direct questions of relevant transactions would encourage the participants to offer informed responses of how social relationships facilitate each specific economic transaction. Before entering the field, I discovered that die production process of chili farming can be divided into 5 principal activities and for each activity, different capital and labour inputs are required (see Figure 4).

Figure 4. Annual Activities in the Production Process of Jalapeno Chili and the Required Capital and Labour Inputs Activity Slashing Burning Sowing Sowing Gleaning Harvest/ Selling (mechanical or 1st 2nd manual) Capital chains aw no capital inputs seeds truck &/or horse Inputs tractor required agrochemicals (mechanical) spraypack Labour unpaid labour unpaid labour paid labour Inputs paid labour paid labour WHO adults and adolescents entire family everyone in the works community month JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JLY AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

The first activity of die year is die 'Slashing' activity, which occurs in the mondis of

January to March. This is the time when new land is prepared for cultivation and as a result the land is cleared of trees and bushes . During die 'Slashing' phase, the capital inputs required are chainsaw and a machete. If die farmer wishes to prepare the land mechanically, an extra capital

A parcel of land that is used for chili cultivation has an approximate life cycle of 2-4 growing seasons, depending on the fertility of the soil; after this time the land needs about a 10-year fallow period (Keys & Chowdry, 2006). Therefore, this slashing phase occurs approximately every 3 years. 58 input is required, a tractor. All the farmers that mechanically prepare their land, rent (or borrow) a tractor eidier as a member of a cooperative or privately. If the farmer does not own a chainsaw, he would either need to rent or borrow one. The formal rental arrangement of a chainsaw in these communities is to hire the owner of the chainsaw for the work needed and pay a set daily wage. However, as will be revealed later, there are several examples of informal arrangements due to the social relationship between the farmer and the chainsaw-owner. Most of the farmers use unpaid labour, in the form of family labour or reciprocal labour sharing arrangements. Only male adolescents and adults work during this phase of production. Some farmers hire labourers and pay them in cash.

The 'Burning' activity follows and occurs during the dry season, from April to May. No capital inputs are required; however, labour inputs are necessary to execute this activity. Most of the workers use unpaid labour, either family labour or labour sharing agreements and once again, only the male adolescents and adults engage in this type of work. Some farmers may decide to hire labourers and pay them in cash.

Next comes the 'Sowing' activity. The first sowing period of jalapeno chili seeds occurs in June and the second period follows in July. If the farmers have not collected chili seeds from their previous harvest, they either can purchase seeds from a local vendor in the community, receive seeds as a 'gift' or as a reciprocal arrangement among friends or family. After sowing the seeds, the application of herbicides and pesticides is done on the land. All farmers purchase, in cash, agrochemical inputs at the local agrochemical supplier in Las Carmelas and/or at commercial stores in the municipal center, Xpujil. All farmers require a spraypack, which is a backpack specially designed to spray the agrochemicals. Some of die farmers hire labour and

59 pay them in cash; however, most of them use unpaid labour, either family labour or labour sharing. During the 'Sowing' phase the entire family works on the farm.

The next activity is 'Cleaning' which occurs in August and September. The capital inputs required are agrochemicals and the labour inputs are either unpaid labour or hired labour to remove the weeds that are growing in the chili plot; all die family partake in this activity.

The final activity of die year is die 'Harvest', which occurs in October to December. It is common diat a plot of land will give fruit to several harvests during diis period. Once the jalapeno chili is ripe and ready for sale, it is crucial diat the entire crop is harvested widiin a couple of days and sold immediately to the intermediary buyers. This is due to the fast rate of spoilage of diese fresh chilies, which, dierefore, need to be refrigerated shortly after being plucked from the stem; for this reason, the selling of die crop is done almost simultaneously widi the harvest itself (Keys

& Chowdry, 2006). Much manpower is required to remove die peppers from dieir stalk, place them in burlap sacks, and transport die filled sacks via horse or truck, depending on die location of, and access, to die plot to die main road. Therefore, die capital inputs required are horse and/or truck; extra labour inputs are essential during this phase. All farmers pay die extra labour1 in cash, eidier immediately or shortiy after die sale has taken place. During this time, a real labour market is in effect: pickers receive a set daily wage and work is offered on a first-come first-served basis. In die case where die farmer does not own a horse and/or truck, diere is a formal rental agreement widi a set price in these communities. The preparation of Dry Chili is also done at diis time and sold periodically during these months. All the community members, from children to die elderly, work in die Harvest time.

As mentioned earlier, other times of the year it is common to find a reciprocal arrangement of labour sharing or other methods of reciprocity (access to capital goods exchanged for labour for example) to manage the chili fields. 60 Now that the activities in the production process of Jalapeno Chili have been delineated, the system can be divided into three phases: production, finance, and selling strategies. The production phase involves all the necessary inputs to start-up and maintain the system; selling strategies are the selling options of jalapeno chili in the Calakmul area; and finally,i n order for the system to function, there are times when monetary income is necessary to purchase inputs; therefore, the finance phase is all the possible ways of obtaining cash, either by credit or by income earning strategies. After consulting with local experts, in particular with Armando

Alayon, I was able to highlight the relevant factors for each phase (see Table 3).

Table 3. Relevant Factors for Each Phase in the Jalapeno Chili Production Process Production "essential: land, seeds, agrochemicals, spray backpack, chainsaw, truck, horse *extra: tractor Selling intermediary buyer (outsider); local buyer Finance " credit: open (public), personal lender, credit union * income earning opportunities: agricultural work in the community & outside; nonagricultural work: in die community & outside; produce and sell honey, seeds, corn, & other crops; rear and sell livestock, cattle & sheep; rent capital equipment, truck, chainsaw, & horse; remittances; government subsidies; development projects

For the production phase, the necessary inputs to produce chili are: land, seeds, agrochemicals, spray pack, chainsaw, truck, and horse. The extra input for improved production, i.e. mechanized farming, is the use of a tractor. For the selling phase, the farmers can sell fresh and dry chili in the Calakmul region to the three principal intermediary buyers who are outsiders to Calakmul, or to local buyers who are associated with these intermediary buyers.

For the finance phase, farmers can access credit through an open and public arrangement, for example, the local lender in the community who charges high interest (>20%); they can also farmers can access credit through personal lenders and membership in credit unions ; in both the latter cases the interest charged is much less in comparison to the local lenders. Farmers can

A credit union is a formal institutional arrangement and in order to be a member, one must go dirough an application phase and it is common that social connections facilitate the application procedure. 61 also finance the production system by engaging in other income earning opportunities. In the

Calakmul region farmers can work in chili farming or work on cattle farms; and die farmers can sell dieir labour services for nonagricultural purposes such as repairing roads, building schools, repairing houses, and working as a mechanic. They may be able to sell other agricultural products, such as corn, seeds, honey, and etc. Outside die Calakmul region, farmers may have the opportunity to work in agriculture or nonagricultural activities, such as, building houses in

Cancun. Farmers may decide to sell cattle or sheep, and diey can rent out dieir truck, chainsaw, or a horse. Fanners may receive a portion of their income through remittances from family members who live in the United States, government subsides, and by participating in development projects.

IV.iuii. Grounding1 the Nature of Relationship in Transactions

Social capital grows by bringing together resources from disparate sources. These sources are networks and network structures and they work as channels or conduits for resource mobilization. The nature of network structures influences the range of resources that may be accessed. This study investigates how social interactions, specifically die nature of networks, influence economic transactions. In order to examine this, I will adopt an approach similar to

Social Network Research to analyze social capital.

A "network" is a set of actors connected by a set of "ties"; "an actor" (also called a

"node") can be persons, teams, organizations, concepts, etc; and it is assumed that different kinds of "ties" function differentiy (Borgatti & Foster, 2003, pg. 992). When attention is focused on a single actor, the actor is referred to as the "ego" and in diis "ego-network" the sets of nodes that the ego relates to (has ties with) is called an "alter" (Borgatti & Foster, 2003, pg.

62 992). Network research can be done at the dyadic level, which is an observed value for eachpair of nodes, at the actor level, and at the network level (Borgatti & Foster, 2003).

Social network research must address the direction of causality i.e. whedier the studies are about die causes of network structures or the consequences. Studies that concern diemselves with the former, "explain die network in terms of actor personalities and latent propensities"; however, most social capital studies focus on die latter and demonstrate tiiatnetwor k variables affect important outcome variables (Borgatti & Foster, 2003, pg. 1000). For example, strong family bonds effect individual education levels (Coleman, 1988); structural holes and weak links affect job attainment (Burt, 1992; Granovetter, 1973); cross-cutting ties affect community economic development (Narayan, 1999); and strong community bonds and norms affect individual labour market opportunities (Loury, 1977). My study focuses on the consequences of networks, where die outcome variable is the different types of resources and income opportunities accessed.

Essentially network research demonstrates die "value of connections" (Borgatti &

Foster, 2003) and one of its main interests is die examination of how information and resources flow in networks. Social capital network studies differ in how tiiey treat social ties and their functions. Borgatti & Foster (2003) state diat diere are two approaches in individual social capital research. "Vat structuralist conception has its focus "on the structure or configuration of ties in the ego-network" (pg. 1002) & die connectionist conception has its focus on die resources that flow through social ties. For example, in Burt (1992)'s study of structural holes, he draws from botii conceptual streams of research. Burt (2002) states diat "die weaker connections between groups are holes in die social structure of the market" (pg. 155) and he refers to these

63 holes as 'structural holes'. His first argument on information benefits of structural holes draws from the connectionist stream of research. Borgatti & Foster (2003) explains Burt's argument:

An actor can maximize the amount of non-redundant information he receives dirough his contacts if the contacts are unconnected to each odier. His reasoning is that if A and B are friends, then they will share information, and there is no reason for ego to have ties to both of them— assuming the total number of ties an actor can have is limited, it is better to have a tie with just one of the pair and have die other tie go to someone unconnected to them. (pg. 1003)

Burt's second argument on the advantages of the control benefits of structural holes draws from a structuralist conception, as the advantage is due to the positioning in the social network structure. Burt (2002) states that structural holes

...create a competitive advantage for an individual whose network spans the holes... (as diey) are an opportunity to broker the flow of information between people and controlxhe projects that bring together people from opposite sides of the hole... (pg. 155)

My study analyzes die embedded resources within the social ties as opportunities for developing the household economy. I approach this analysis from ^connectionist and structuralistperspective: the former approach analyzes the type of resources and income opportunities diat flow through social ties and the latter approach examines the structure of the tie and die social mechanisms that facilitate diis access. The actor in this study is deemed to be an active, rational agent who exploits the network position he finds himself in.

To develop a functional questionnaire that grounds the nature of the social relationships in economic transactions for each possible relevant factor in the production system of chili (as highlighted in the prior section), an assessment of the following is required: nature of the social relationship, specifics about the 'alter', and how the exchange took place. So an inquiry is done

As mentioned in the introduction, social relationships can pose limitations on an individual's economic development; however, die focus on my study is on the gains of resources from social engagement. 64 on the WHO, WHAT, WHERE regarding the social relationship and HOW regarding the transaction.

The WHO question relates to the profession of the 'alter' that facilitates the access for each specific factor of the system. WHO one relates to affects the type of resources that individuals can access (Lin, 1999; (Woolcock& Sweetser, 2002). There are two sociological principles that explain this idea. The first is the homophily principle: Homans (1951) imagined primary social circles as being distinguished by dense and reciprocal interactions where its members sharedhomophilous characteristics, such as socioeconomic status (Lin, 1999).

Empirical studies show that there is a "tendency for people to interact more with their own kind- whether by preference or induced by opportunity constraints" (Borgatti & Foster, 2003, pg.

998); moreover, "there is a strong correspondence between intensity of interactions, shared sentiment, and shared resources" among the members in the social circle (Lin, 2001, pg. 67).

The second principle to explain the flow of resources in networks is the heterophily principle: the bridging theory of networks states that as one reaches out of one's social inner circle, one is more likely to encounter ties with diverse characteristics and as a result, encounter different embedded resources in the social relationship (Granovetter, 1973; Lin, 1999; Burt,

1992). Lin (2001) states that these diverse "resources not only reflect different and new resources, but also increase the chances of containing better resources" (pg.67). In my study, one can then hypothesize diat farmers who engage in social relationships with others who are similar to him, i.e. peasants, have access to similar resources and farmers who have social ties with people who are nonpeasants, i.e. who are different from themselve, have access to a diverse set of resources.

65 Apart frompersona l social engagement, the WHO question can also highlight organized group engagement; for example a specific resource may be accessible via membership in a cooperative. The WHO in this case would be the type of cooperative. Also the WHO may be an institutional relation as for example, a farmer accessing resources and income opportunities via participation in government funded development projects. The WHO in diis case is the government.

Two aspects of Network location analysis (structuralist perspective) that are particularly important influences on social capital are analysis of tie strength and degree of network closure

(Glover et al., 2005). The WHAT and the WHERE question investigate these aspects retrospectively. The What question refers to the nature of the relationship between the participant and the 'alter' and can be defined as only business, acquaintance, and friend or family; diis information indicates the degree of closeness within the relationship. Glover et al. (2005) state that the study of tie strengdi, i.e. strong and weak ties, not only stresses the relationships among individuals but the patterns and implications of these relationships. The social capital network research of "strong" and "weak" ties state that these ties are channels for the transfer or flow of material and nonmaterial resources and each differ in purpose (Schuller, Baron & Field,

2001).

There have been many studies drat have examined the importance of strong ties in developing social capital: they offer beneficial social support and work as safety nets in times of distress, foster mutual assistance, and are effective in social control of deviant behaviours

(Narayan, 1999; Grootaert&vanBastelaer, 2002; Coleman, 1988). Strong ties are kin relationships and close friends and in general, these ties are made up of people who share same

66 knowledge, norms, and beliefs (Woolcock& Sweetser, 2002; Lin, 2001). There is a downside to this type of social capital; Portes & Landolt (1996) state that strong social ties may result in impacted information, i.e. circulation of redundant information and coercive conformity to the social circle's expectations.

Weak ties are often defined as acquaintance type of relationships (Stone, 2001) and in general, these types of connections are widi people from outside your primary social circle, may live in anodier region and work in another profession (Granovetter, 1973; Stone, 2001; Lin,

2001). Weak ties serve three purposes: one, they act as a bridge to other social groupings having information and resources unavailable within one's intimate social circle; two, diey provide opportunities for individual autonomy via unique structural location, which avoids the coercive conformity aspect of strong relations; and three, they allow the individual to gain speedy advantages in learning about and cashing in on new entrepreneurial opportunities, as is the case in Burt's structural hole argument (Lin, 1999). Dasgupta (2000) states this 'weak tie advantage' is not commonly observed in rural populations in poor countries where die ties are mosdy intense. The drawback of weak ties is diey are not an important source of security against environmental risk, which is a major concern in the case of Calakmul communities. In my study,

I assume family and close friend type of relationships to be 'strong' ties and acquaintance and only-business types of relationship to be 'weak' ties; one can then hypothesize that farmers who participate in die former type of engagement are more likely to access resources diat promote social support while farmers who participate in the latter type of engagement are more likely to access outside opportunities and resources.

67 The other aspect of network location in social capital studies is the degree of network closure - the extent to which people know the people whom diey know (Glover et al., 2005).

The WHERE question investigates the location of die residence of the 'alter'. This information offers insight on how extensive the social links are and this has an affect on the type of embedded resources accessible in the social ties. Lin (2001) explains that denser networks have a relative advantage for maintaining resources, for example, a cohesive community is more inclined to assure the security and safety of the children (Coleman, 1990); however, more sparse networks have greater leverage in searching and obtaining new resources, for example, looking for a better job - higher earnings (Lin, 1999). In my study, dense networks are described as ties with people from "CALAKMUL", either from die communities or Xpujil, and sparse networks are described as ties widi people from "OUTSIDE", which is anywhere outside of the Calakmul region; one can then hypothesize farmers who engage in dense networks can access resources that maintain the household economy where farmers who engage in sparse networks can access resources that develop die household economy.

The HOW question refers to the method of transaction: paid in cash, paid in credit, reciprocal behaviour, gift, or right. This information gives insight to the 'rules of die game' and describes the social mechanism in place to facilitate the exchange.

In summary, the questionnaire was developed to capture die added value of social relationships to economic activity. WHO relates to the access of resources, WHAT & WHERE relate to the structural network, and HOW relates to the social mechanisms that facilitate the exchange. Most of the variability is predicted to occur for diose factors dealing with die Finance phase of the system. In societies where formal institutions are lacking or are not functioning

68 properly, the economic environment is characterized by market constraints and limited income earning options, as is the case in Calakmul. In these types of environments, trust between individuals becomes paramount to access resources and therefore, informal arrangements, such as different types of social engagement, acts as an alternative to formal institutions to facilitate economic exchange (Fafchamps, 2002; Dasgupta, 2000).

View Appendix I for a copy of die Questionnaire on Social Capital Transactions

(translated from Spanish to English).

IV/iti. DATA USAGE

IV.ili.i. Background to Assumptions

In order to understand die data usage acquired in die field, dlis section highlights die assumptions behind the study and define die categories used for analysis.

• Pure Transaction and Social Capital Transaction

Pure market transactions have a 'fixed market' price, i.e. this price is openly known to all who engage in die market and is non-negotiable. It is as if die buyer (or seller) is 'anonymous'; therefore, who you are or what kind of relationship you may have witii the seller (buyer) does not affect how die transaction is undertaken. In the communities of this study, cash is die only accepted metiiod of payment in all pure market transactions.

Social capital transactions are influenced by social relationships. Anonymity does not apply in these types of exchanges; it is prior social engagement that precisely affects how the transaction occurs. All social capital transactions have a value-added component to die exchange

69 as aresult of social engagement. For these types of transactions, the method of payment accepted varies from cash, credit, reciprocal, and gift exchanges.

• SocialRelationshipsInstrumentalUse

The head of household is assumed to be a rational individual, and the purpose of social capital transactions to be instrumental. In a social capital transaction there are two 'parties' involved: die receiver of the benefit and the donor of the benefit (Portes, 1998). Recall that die benefit is the value-added social relationships have on transactions. Most of die cases in this study deal with die respondent, the head of household, as ^receiver of benefits, for example, his friend gave him a job tip which enabled him to find work in the outside market; he buys a second hand chainsaw from his neighbour at a lower cost than for what he can purchase a new one in the

Calakmul market. However, uiere are cases when the respondent is adonor of benefits: for example, the participant lends his horse to his brodier at no cost; the participant has gathered extra seeds from the harvest season, and he gives away seeds to his family and friends. As the participant is assumed to be a rational individual who mobilizes his relationships for instrumental use, in these cases when the participant is a donor of benefits in transactions, he is also receiving some kind of benefit from the relationship: an investment in mutual support that he will be able to access at a later time. Therefore, for all social capital transactions, the participant is gaining some value-added resources regardless of whether he is die donor or receiver of benefits.

• Unit of Analysis

Although, the unit of analysis is the actor, the analysis of his relationships is at the dyadic level. It is not within die scope of this study to examine the nature of die network structure of each participant. Rather the study examines each social capital transaction and observes patterns

70 of social engagement and its mechanisms used to access different resources and income opportunities accessed.

• Peasant andNonpeasant

Economic exchange, eidier a pure market transaction or a social capital transaction, can be undertaken with people similar to the farmers, or people dissimilar to the farmers. The information gathered from die questionnaire offered a varied description on the WHO of diose interactions with 'non-peasants'. For example, nonpeasants diat live in the Calakmul region are people who have moved away from chili farming and are now cattle or sheep ranchers and/or are local buyers of jalapeno chili. Non-peasants that live outside of the Calakmul region represent a range of professions such as, tradesmen, agronomists, store owners and bank workers.

However, for the sake of simplicity, what is of importance is if engagement is done with people like oneself or widi people different from oneself in order to illustrate the access different resources and income opportunities. Therefore, PEASANT and NONPEASANT categories are used in this study to describe similarities in profession. In this study, it is distinguished if die interaction is widi a Peasant/Nonpeasant from Calakmul and with a Peasant/Nonpeasant from outside of Calakmul.

• Access to Resources via Government programs and Cooperative Organizations

The respondent can also be ^receiver of benefits when die exchange takes place with an organized group, such as a cooperative or participation in a government development project.

For example, the respondent benefits from being a member of a honey cooperative because this allows him a venue to sell his honey securely and for a relatively higher price than if he sold it independendy; similarly, the head of household benefits from participation in a government

71 programs such as a reforestation programs: the respondent receives seedlings to reforest their land, plus they receive a sum of money for each hectare of their own land they reforest. After conducting the interviews, I learned that in order to participate in development projects and become a member of a cooperative the application procedure is not an open and anonymous process, social connections play an important role. Therefore, I assume that all Government and

Cooperative economic transactions are categorized as social capital transactions.

• Access to Markets

In this study, die markets accessible to die farmer are categorized as CALAKMUL and

OUTSIDE. The Calakmul market includes transactions undertaken widiin the two communities, other communities in die Calakmul region and in die municipal capital city of

Xpujil. Outside markets are all other markets outside the boundary of die Calakmul region. In general, die Outside market offers relatively cheaper resources and more profitable income earning opportunities dian die Calakmul market; however, access to diis market is more cosdy due to die high transportation costs to travel outside die Calakmul region. It is assumed diat those goods that are accessed via a social relationship, and are purchased in die Outside market, have greater value-added then die same good purchased in die Calakmul market. In odier words,

I assume diere is an economic advantage in engaging socially widi individuals who allow access to die Outside market for resources and income opportunities.

• WHAT Dropped from Analysis

Recall the WHAT question refers to the nature of the relationship. In the interview process, most farmers did not differentiate between friends and acquaintances. This could indicate that die study sample mainly engaged in relationships of the nature of strong links or if

72 the farmer expressed a benefit from conducting the exchange with such and such individual, he would usually correct himself and say he was a friend when initially he described his relationship widi the alter as an acquaintance. Therefore, in many cases, itwas unclear if the relationship was a true strong link or just an acquaintance. I realized that the terminology of friend and acquaintance maybe subjective to the individual. For these reasons, the nature of the relationship, i.e. the WHAT information from the questionnaire, was dropped from die analysis of diis study.

In summary, die variables used in the analysis are as follows. Transactions can be PURE market or SOCIAL CAPITAL transactions. For personal exchange, die variables used are

PEASANT_Calakmul, PEASANT_Outside, NONPEASANT_Calakmul, and

NONPEASANT_Outside. For institutional and formal group exchange, the WHO can also be

GOVERNMENT, and MEMBERSHIP (to a cooperative). To describe the type of market where the resources and income opportunities were accessed, die variables used are: CALAKMUL and

OUTSIDE.

IV.iii.it. Ranking' of Resources

The semi-informal interviews revealed a gradation of accessed resources and income opportunities in these communities. The resources and income opportunities are ranked into three principal categories: ESSENTIAL, IMPROVEMENT, and EXTRA (see Table 4.). As chili production is die principle livelihood source for diese households, die ESSENTIAL category relates to all the essential resources and income earning opportunities required for chili production. The second category IMPROVEMENT, relates to resources diat improve die chili production process, i.e. enables the farmer to be more productive in chili farming but are not

73 deemed to be essential to its functioning. The third category EXTRA relates to resources and income opportunities that the household accesses that are not directly required for the process of jalapeno chili farming, buy may indirectly help to finance the system. The EXTRA income earning strategies that the household engages in apart from chili cultivation is further divided to indicate die relative monetary benefit gained from engaging in a certain income generating activity. The relative scale of benefits, ranging from $ to $$$$, is to demonstrate the lucrativeness of die activity and die type of social relationship diat facilitates this activity.

Table 4. Ranking of Resources and Income Earning Opportunities ESSENTIAL IMPROVEMENT EXTRA RESOURCE Knowledge Tractor Cattle Labour 'Credit Sheep Horse Car Seeds 'Bike ~ Agrochemicals ~ Spraypack ~ Chainsaw ~ Truck INCOME sell Fresh Chili rent Chainsaw $ Opportunities sell Dry Chili rent Horse sell Corn sell Seeds Hair cut services sell Labour: agriculture $$ sell Labour: nonagriculture Community store sell Cattle $$$ sell Sheep sell Chicle sell Honey sell Prepared meals Government work $$$$ Agrochemical store *sellChiua 'sell Papaya * sell Honey *sell Labour: agriculture *sell Labour: nonagriculture *sell dry chili Outside Market ~ Calakmul Market or Outside Market

74 CHAPTER V. RESULTS & DISCUSSION

V.i. MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OP STUDY SAMPLE

In the Calakmul region, 26 semi-informal interviews were conducted with heads of households, all of whom were men. In Cristobal Colon, 16 men participated in die study representing 22% of die total heads of households found in the community (assuming diere is one head per household) and in Las Carmelas, 10 men participated representing 16% of die total heads of households found in the community (Gurri et al., 2002). The interviews were selected on a volunteer basis and diere was an equal representation of participants from the two adaptive strategies: Capitalist'and Traditional (sec Table 5.).

Table 5. Number of Participants in Adaptive Strategy Type; Sample Size Compared To Gurri's Sample and Population Size COMMUNITY Capitalist Traditional Present Gurri's Total Total* of study study Population Households

Las Carmelas 6 4 10 28 355 62

Cristobal 7 9 16 26 700 72 Colon

total 13 total 13 26

From the questionnaire: 'Household Characteristics' , morphological characteristics of the household head and his family were identified (see Table 8.). The characteristics identified are: ethnicity, which relates to die state of origin and native tongue of household head; age of household, number of years residing in Calakmul, & marital status of household head; size of family, which relates to die number of children of the household head; the number of people living under the same household dwelling; education , which relates to number of years of schooling completed by the household head, household's wife, and eldest child. As well,

21 See Appendix II for a copy of the original questionnaire. Number of years of schooling relates to Primary education: Grades 1-6, Secondary education: Grades 7-9, and High School Education (in Mexico this is known as 'El Bachillerato': Grades 10-12. 75 information was gathered on whether the eldest child still attends school, and whether the child widi die most education still lives at home. Table 8. illustrates the morphological characteristics of die household head and his family.

• Ethnicity: State of origin and native tongue of household head

The edinic makeup of die sample is 50% mestizo and 50% indigenous people (see Table

6.). For participants who are mestizo, their states of origin are Veracruz and Tabasco and their native tongue is Spanish; for participants who are indigenous, die majority are from die state of

Chiapas widi a small minority from Oaxaca and the most common language spoken among indigenous people is Choi The edinic makeup according to adaptive strategy is as follows (see

Table 7.): for the Capitalist group just under 50% ofthe households are indigenous people (6 households) and just over 50% are mestizo people (7 households) and for the Traditional group just over 50% are indigenous people (7hh) and just under 50% are mestizo people (6hh).

Table 6. Ethnic Makeup of Adaptive Strategy Groups Adaptive Strategy Ethnicity Indigenous Mestizo Capitalist 6 7 Traditional 7 6 total-13 total: 13 26

Table 7. State of Origin Among Participants According To Community and Strategy Type Community Capitalist Traditional Veracruz Chiapas Tabasco Veracruz Chiapas Oaxaca Las Carmelas 6 4 Cristobal Colon 6 1 6 2 1

• Age, number of years in Calakmul, marital status

For die entire sample, the average age is 46.3 years; the youngest participant is 25 years old and die oldest participants are 61 years of age. The average age is similar for both strategy groups: die Capitalist group is 46.1 years and die Traditional group is 47 years. The average

76 number of years residing in Calakmul for the entire sample is 23.4; the minimum amount of years is 1 lyears compared to 39, the maximum amount of years. For the Capitalist group, the average number of years of residence is 23.8 and for the Traditional group it is 22.5 years. All the participants are married and have children with the exception of one household head belonging to die Traditional group who is separated with grown children.

• Size of Family

For the entire sample, the average number of children per family is 4.5: a minimum of

2.0 children per family and a maximum of 8.0 children per family were found. The Capitalist group, on average, has fewer children per family than the Traditional group: 3.8 children compared to 5.2 children per family. Gurri et al. (2002) state that the measure of the number of people living in the household includes all family relations living in the same household dwelling.

For the entire sample, on average 6.8 people reside in the dwelling, with aminimum of 4.0 and a maximum of 10 people. The average for the Capitalist group is less than the average for the

Traditional group: 6.3 people for die former group compared to 7.4 people for the latter group.

• Education

For the entire sample, the average number of years of schooling for the household head is 3.6 years: a minimum value of no years of schooling and a maximum value of 9 years of schooling, i.e. completion of secondary school. The Capitalist group, on average, was found to have more years of schooling for the head of die household than the Traditional group: 4.6 years compared to 2.4 years. For the entire sample, on average the household head's wife was found to have fewer years of schooling dian her husband: 2.6 years compared to 3.6 years. Once again, the Capitalist group, on average, demonstrated more years of schooling for the wife than the

77 Traditional group: 3.1 years compared to 2.1 years. For the entire sample the eldest child, on average, was found to have 9.4 years of schooling and there was minimal difference between strategy groups: 9 years for the Capitalist group compared to 9.6 years for the Traditional

Group. For the entire sample, the maximum value was 12 years of schooling for the eldest child i.e. completion of High School, and the minimum value was 6 years of schooling; however, the minimum value is not accurate because these children are still attending school.

Table 8. Morphological Characteristics of the Households Morphological Characteristics ALL CAPITALIST TRADITIONAL avg med min max avg avg 'AGE(vears) 46.3 45.5 25.0 61.0 46.1 47 'RESIDENCE in Calakmul (years) 23.4 22.5 11.0 37.0 23.8 22.5 CHILDREN (number) 4.5 4.0 2.0 8.0 3.8 5.2 PEOPLE IN HOUSEHOLD (number) 6.8 6.5 4.0 10.0 6.3 7.4 'EDUCATION (years) 3.6 4.0 0 9.0 4.6 2.4 EDUCATION of Wife (years) 2.6 1.5 0 9.0 3.1 2.1 EDUCATION of Eldest child (years) 9.4 9.0 6.0 12.0 9.0 9.6 * Specific details of the Household head

In summary, for the two adaptive strategies, the households in the study sample have many similar morphological features such as ethnicity, state of origin, age of household head, the number of years residing in Calakmul, and the numbers of years of schooling for the eldest child.

However, there are some differences in the morphological makeup of the two groups. The families that belong in the Traditional group have more children and more people residing under the same household dwelling dtan those of the Capitalist group. This finding corresponds with

Gurri et al. 's (2002) findingsdia t the Traditional strategy use family labour to work the farm whereas the Capitalist strategy tends to hire outside labour during certain times of the year. The dependency on family labour for tiie Traditional group may be an incentive to have more children. For education, there are minor differences between strategy types: on average, the

78 Capitalist group has 2 more years of schooling for the household head and one more year for the wife; however, on average, neither group completed primary school.

There is an immense improvement with children's level of education regardless of strategy group: for the total sample, die average is 9 years of schooling for die eldest child compared to 3 years for die parents. This finding may demonstrate a few factors in play. One, schooling is more accessible for die children dian it was for dieir parents; two, the low level of education of die parents demonstrates diat all families that migrated to Calakmul were seeking a better life than what was offered to them in their home state; lasdy, die improvement in education for die children may illustrate die government's role in creating incentives that promote education in diese communities. For example, Oportunidades is a subsidy program diat offers modiers widi school aged children quarterly payments of house supplies (food and medicine) as long as they demonstrate their children are attending school. These subsidy payments account for a substantial portion of die livelihood strategies for diese Calakmul families (Haenn, 2000;

Stedman-Edwards, 1997).

V.U. IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL RELATIONS IN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

This section examines die idea of social relationships as assets by facilitating resources and income opportunities to develop and maintain die economy of the household. Examining all the possible resources and income earning opportunities of the study sample and discriminating between die type of transaction diat facilitated its access, i.e. pure market and social capital transactions, provides an idea of the importance of social relations in economic activity. These results are then compared according to strategy type.

79 To access resources and income opportunities, one can either purchase or rent the resource and sell their labour, services, or products in die local market (i.e. Calakmul) or in the

Outside market (see Figure 5.). It was found diat out of the 50 possible resources and income opportunities accessible to the 26 households in die study sample, 409 resources and income opportunities were accessed: 366 (89%) were accessed in the Calakmul market and 43 (11%) were accessed in the Outside market.

Figure 5. Resources and Income Opportunities Accessed By Market Type

OUTSIDE

"--..,. CALAKMUL 89%

According to Strategy type, in the Calakmul market both strategy groups accessed approximately die same amount of resources and income opportunities: 184 for the Capitalist group and 182 for the Traditional group. However, in the Outside market, the Capitalist group accessed more resources & income opportunities dian die Traditional group: 33 (77% of total accessed in the Outside market) compared to 10 (23 %) (see Figure 6.).

80 Figure 6. Distribution of Resources and Income Opportunities Accessed In OUTSIDE and CALAKMUL Markets

400 350 8 300 C 8 25° "^ aoo • TRADITIONAL IO E! CAPITALIST 181 I ° KT- 5° o OUTSIDE CALAKMUL

Strategy Type

Table 9. illustrates all the possible factors in the chili production system for the study sample. For the entire sample, social relationships facilitated access to 67% of all the resources and income opportunities that develop and maintain die economy of the household: out of die

409 factors accessed, 274 were accessed via a social capital transaction.

(see Figure 7).

Figure 7. Percentage of Resources and Income Opportunities Accessed By Social Capital Transactions

Pure Market 33%

Social Capital 67%

81 Table 9. Importance of Social Ca pital Transactions For A LLthel 'ossibk Factor s RANKING Transaction Details Specifics ALL CAPITALIST TRADITIONAL total social total social total social ESSENTIAL Sell Dry chili local 16 4 6 0 10 4 Sell Fresh chili local 26 11 13 3 13 8 Agrochemical local 25 5 12 3 13 2 Agrochemical outside 2 1 2 1 0 0 Knowledge: group sharing local 20 20 12 12 8 8 Knowledge: individual local 18 18 7 7 11 11 Knowledge: workshop local 15 15 11 11 4 4 Labour: harvest local 26 0 13 0 13 0 Labour: other local 23 23 10 10 13 13 Land* local 2 2 0 0 2 2 Spraypack local 24 16 12 9 12 7 Spraypack outside 4 2 3 1 1 1 Chainsaw: rent local 20 16 8 7 12 9 Chainsaw outside 6 3 5 2 1 1 Truck: rent local 17 12 7 4 10 8 Truck local 2 1 1 1 1 0 Truck outside 4 3 3 3 1 0 Horse: rent local 4 4 0 0 4 4 Horse local 13 7 7 4 6 3 Horse outside 1 0 1 0 0 0 Seeds local 15 12 7 5 8 7 IMPROVEMENT Credit: union outside 8 8 7 7 1 1 Credit: lender local 5 5 2 2 3 3 Credit: lender outside 2 2 1 1 1 1 Tractor: rent local 14 14 9 9 5 5 EXTRA Cattle local 8 8 4 4 4 4 Sheep local 4 4 2 2 2 2 Car local 1 1 1 1 0 0 Bike outside 4 2 3 2 1 0 EXTRAS rent Chainsaw local 3 2 3 2 0 0 rent Horse local 2 2 1 1 1 1 sell Corn local 6 3 2 1 4 2 sell Seeds local 5 0 3 0 2 0 Hair cutting service local 1 0 1 0 0 0 EXTRAS$ sell Labour: agriculture local 22 12 11 5 11 7 sell Labour: nonagricult local 10 10 5 5 5 5 Community store local 4 4 3 3 1 1 EXTRA$$$ sell Cattle local 5 4 4 3 1 1 sell Sheep local 1 1 1 1 0 0 sell Chicle local 2 2 0 0 2 2 sell Prepared meals local 1 0 1 0 0 0 sell Honey local 4 4 3 3 1 1 EXTRA $$$$ Government work local 1 1 0 0 Agrochemical store local 1 1 0 0 sell Chiua outside 1 1 0 0 sell Papaya outside 1 1 0 0 sell Honey outside 1 1 0 0 sell Labour: agriculture outside 2 1 1 0 sell Labour: nonagricult outside 6 4 4 2 2 2 sell Dry chili outside 1 1 0 0 1 1 409 274 217 143 192 131 .67% 66% 68%. 82 According to Strategy type, for PURE market transactions, the Capitalist group accessed

74 resources and income opportunities while die Traditional group accessed 61; for SOCIAL

CAPITAL transactions, the Capitalist group accessed 143 resources and income opportunities while the Traditional group accessed 131 (see Figure 8). Therefore, for the capitalist group, social relationships facilitated the access to 66% of all the resources and income opportunities

(143 out of 217) and for the Traditional group 68% (131 out of 192).

Figure 8. Distribution of Transaction Type According To Strategy Type

300 250 aoo

150 I TRADITIONAL 100 1 CAPITALIST M3 50 o PURE SOCIAL TransactianTj^pc

Table 10. demonstrates the importance of social relationships according to RANKED resources and income opportunities. The study sample mostly engaged in transactions that deal with ESSENTIAL resources and income opportunities: 70% (283 out of the 409 total transactions). The other 30% of the total transactions are divided as follows: 7% for

IMPROVEMENT in resources; 4% for EXTRA resources; 4% for EXTRA income opportunities with a relative $ return; 9% for EXTRA income opportunities with a relative $ $ return; 3% for

EXTRA income opportunities with a relative $ $ $ return; and 3% for EXTRA income opportunities with the highest relative return in theses communities, $$$$ (see Figure 9).

83 Table 10. Importance of Social Relationships According To RANKED Resources and Income Opportunities RANKING ALL CAPITALIST TRADITIONAL total social total social total social ESSENTIAL 283 175 140 83 143 92 IMPROVEMENT 29 29 19 19 10 10 EXTRA 17 15 10 9 7 6 $ 17 7 10 4 7 3 $$ 36 26 19 13 17 13 $$$ 13 11 9 7 4 4 $$$$ 14 11 10 8 4 3 409 274 217 143 192 131

Figure 9. Division of Resources and Income Opportunities According To RANK

$ 4%

EXTRA 4%

ESSENTIAL IMPROVEMENT 70% 7%

For the entire sample, the resources and income opportunities that were mostly accessed via social capital transactions were: IMPROVEMENT in resources, 29 out of 29; EXTRA resources, 15 out of 17; EXTRA income $ $ $, 11 out of 13; and EXTRA income $ $ $ $, 11 out of 14. Social capital transactions did not play as major of a role in accessing the other resources and income opportunities: ESSENTIAL, only 175 out of 283; EXTRA income $, only 7 out of

17; EXTRA income $$, only 26 out of 36.

According to Strategy type, the access to resources and income opportunities according to RANK differed for both groups; as well, the mobilization of social relationships to facilitate

84 these transactions was different. The two groups access relatively the same number of

ESSENTIAL resources and income opportunities: 140 for the Capitalist group and 143 for the

Traditional group. The Traditional group mobilizes slightly more social capital transactions than the Capitalist group: 92 compared to 83 (see Figure 10). Therefore, the Traditional group mobilizes 3% more social capital transactions than the Capitalist group for accessing

ESSENTIAL resources and income opportunities.

Figure 10. Comparative Results Between Strategy Type and ESSENTIAL Resources and Income Opportunities 160 1 !•• • i 140 *< .' 120 • '£ "*• . r 1 100 va 1H. )!.'{ - 1-- • —* • F ••- 80 i. M * ' \• , 60 , •" 40 L *!?*=v•' "'^•™ 20 , — " " O -»__ ,„'- J Social Capital Total Transaction Type

§ CAPITALIST • TRADITIONAL

For all die RANKED categories, apart from the ESSENTIAL, die Capitalist group accesses more resources and income opportunities and uses more social capital transactions to facilitate these exchanges (see Figure 11.). There are noticeable differences for the following categories, as die Capitalist group approximately accesses double the amount of resources and income opportunities dian the Traditional group: IMPROVEMENT, 19 compared widi 10;

EXTRA income $$$, 9 versus 4; and EXTRA income $$$$, 10 versus 4. Furthermore, when accessing these resources, the Capitalist group relies more on social capital transactions than the

Traditional group: IMPROVEMENT, 19 versus 10, EXTRA income $ $ $, 7 versus 4, and

EXTRA income $ $ $ $, 8 versus 3.

85 Figure 11. Comparative Results Between Strategy Type and EXTRA, IMPROVEMENT In Resources and Income Opportunities

Transaction Type

• CAPITALIST •TRADITIONAL

In summary, the entire study sample accessed a total of 409 resources & income opportunities. The Capitalist group accessed 53% of the total (217 out of the 409) and the

Traditional group accessed 47% of the total (192 out of 409). For the entire sample, social capital transactions facilitated 67% of the total number of resources and income opportunities accessed. For each group, the importance of social relationships in facilitating access to resources and income opportunities is 66% for the Capitalist group and 68% for die Traditional group. For the ESSENTIAL category the Traditional group mobilizes 3% more social capital transactions to access these resources and income earning opportunities than the Capitalist group; For the IMPROVEMENT, EXTRA income $$$ and EXTRA income $$$$ categories, die Capitalist group accesses and mobilizes double the amount of resources and income earning opportunities than die Traditional group.

86 V.iii. BENEFITS OF SOCIAL CAPITAL TRANSACTIONS

Social Capital transactions influence the access to resources and access to income earning opportunities in several ways (see Table 11. & Table 12. for the benefits of Social

Capital Transactions). As previously mentioned, for the sake of analysis I have distinguished two types of markets that these households can access: the Outside market and the Calakmul market.

For transactions that deal with access to resources, the fanner is acting as BUYER and for those transactions that deal with access to income earning opportunities, die farmer is acting as a

SELLER. Therefore the benefits from social capital transactions differ if the farmer is the

BUYER or the SELLER in each market.

As &BUYER, the farmer engages in market transactions to purchase capital goods and assets (such as livestock), purchase capital inputs for chili production, purchase credit, purchase knowledge for chili production, hire labour, and rent capital equipment. The benefits of social capital transactions for these economic activities are lower price, payment installments of 0% interest, feasible credit opportunities, preferential access, preference, and non-monetary arrangements. As ^SELLER, the farmer engages in income earning market transactions, such as to sell chili, sell other agricultural products, sell labour, rent capital equipment, sell livestock, and sell services. The benefits of social capital transactions for these economic activities are greater income earning potential, a negotiated higher wage than the 'going rate', secure employment, and preferential access.

87 Table 11. Benefits of Social Capital Transactions of Resources and Income Opportunities TRANSACTION OUTSIDE market CALAKMUL market SPECIFICS V(( IsslOKIsOl lids own assets "lower price than Calakmul market "lower price than the going rate (including livestock) "greater selection of products "payment in installments at 0% interest "preferential access own capital inputs "lower price than Calakmul market "lower price than the going rate "payment in installments at 0% interest "payment in installments at 0% interest "preferential access credit "lower credit rate interest "lower credit rate interest compared to local "more reliable source of credit lender's rate "borrow money for 0% interest "borrow money for 0% interest knowledge "free advice/teaching from individuals "free group sharing of knowledge "free advice/teaching from individuals "free technical workshops hire labour "non-monetary arrangements rent capital "non-monetary arrangement equipment "lower price "payment in installments (0%) \(( ISSIOIVOV 1 OITOK11 Mills sell agricultural "profitable income earning opportunities "non-monetary arrangement products "secure employment "new market opportunities sellchili "profitable income earning opportunities * reduce risk of faulty weighing procedures "immediate payment selllabour "profitable income earning opportunities "secure employment "secure employment "higher wage than going rate "non-monetary arrangements rent capital "non-monetary arrangement sell livestock "non-monetary arrangement "receive a higher price than going rate "secure employment * safety net mechanism sellservice "profitable market opportunity "secure employment "preferential market opportunity

Table 12. Overall Benefits of Social Capital Transactions Access to resources Access to Income earning opportunities (BUYER) (SELLER) •access to the Outside market - lower price for goods •access to the Outside market - greater income earning and greater variety opportunities and secure employment • negotiated price lower than the 'going rate' •secure employment •pay in installments •preferential access •preferential access •negotiated wage higher than the 'going rate' •preference •non-monetary arrangements

88 To investigate what is the value-added of these types of transactions (i.e. the benefits) social capital transactions are compared with die pure market scenario.

• Better negotiated price: Higher for a BUYER; Lower for a SELLER

If an anonymous BUYER wants to purchase or rent a good in die market, he/she would pay die market price for diat good. Assuming die buyer is a rational actor and is faced widi a budget constraint, transactions diat enable him to purchase die same good for less is an obvious advantage. For example, a neighbour rents his chainsaw to the farmer below die going rental rate established in die community. This social relationship facilitates a negotiated price where die

BUYER pays less dian die 'market' rate. The argument is similar for ^SELLER: he receives a higher wage for his service dian the going rate.

• Access to Outside Market

As well, transactions diat facilitate access die Outside market are advantageous because comparatively die same good can be purchased for less in tiieseoutsid e markets due to die increase in competition than in die nearest formal market which is in Xpujil; however, to have access to the Outside market entails a transportation cost diat can override die savings on die purchase price. One of die benefits of social relationships is savings in diese transportation costs: for example, as a friend offers to buy die good for you in the outside market as he is already making die trip, or offers you a ride, free of charge, to the outside market.

For a.SELLER's perspective, social relationships can facilitate greater income earning potential by connecting the fanner to employment in the Outside market. Because the labour market in Calakmul is not well developed, except during the Harvest season, employment opportunities in the region are scarce and farmers in search of cash income are required to find

89 employment outside of the region. Social relationships can be used as an asset in connecting farmers to outside employment opportunities: for example, family relations have enabled several farmers to work as house builders in Cancun for about 3-4 months of the year. Once again, the cost of traveling to die area of employment is ahuge constraint for these farmers; social connections can facilitate the access to opportunities outside of Calakmul by savings in transportation costs. For example, a farmer is able to sell chiua and papaya in the outside market, where he is able to receive a higher price for his products in comparison to the Calakmul market; this opportunity is due to a friend who is willing to transport his goods to the Outside market.

• Payment installments of0% interest

In die formal market, when an anonymous BUYER is purchasing or renting a capital good, he/she can eidier pay die full amount up front or payment can be done in credit where a fixed interest rate is incurred on the amount of the good. If &BUYER does not have the full amount to purchase the good immediately, it would be advantageous to him/her if the transaction could be completed widi payment installments of 0% interest. For example, a farmer purchases agrochemicals from the same store in Xpujil, and rarely does he have the full amount of the purchase; die owner accepts the payment in installments, and does not charge the farmer interest. This benefit is due to the farmer continuously having done business with the same storeowner in the past. In this case, the social relationships allow the BUYER to engage in economic activity diat otherwise would not occur in the formal market scenario.

• Credit opportunities

As mentioned previously, in Calakmul there is a 'formal' credit market in the sense that there are credit options open to members of the communities: the local lender of the community

90 who charges a high interest rate. As well, in cases of emergency, the ejido in Las Carmelas lends small sums of money to its members. Compared with the 'market' scenario of these communities, it would therefore be advantageous for &BUYER of credit to borrow money at a lower rate of interest and larger sums at a time in order to capitalize on his/her investment. For example, a friend who is from outside of Calakmul lends large sums of money to the farmer at low interest; family members living outside of Calakmul (in another state of Mexico or in the United

States) lend money to die farmer at 0% interest and at times, widi no expectation of repayment.

These social relationships create credit options that are more feasible and advantageous to the farmer than the 'formal' market scenario; thereby enabling die farmer to eidier invest in developing die household economy or protect his family from falling into poverty (Grootaert, & van Bastelaer, 2002).

• Preferential access

In a formal market scenario, fat BUYER is anonymous in the sense that who you are has no influence on the transaction and the fixed market price When aBUYER has preferential access to a particular good that is in demand, he is no longer an anonymous individual: who he is and who he knows has everydiing to do with how the exchange takes place. Preferential access to resources enables the BUYER to be in an advantageous position in comparison to others. For example, a farmer has preferential access to the use of a tractor because his fadier, a relatively weakhy farmer in die community, owns a tractor and allows his son to use it free of charge. The tractor is an expensive resource that is accessible via renting arrangements; it is in high demand in the communities because it enables the farmer to engage in mechanized farming, which

91 generally produces higher yields than swidden farming. Therefore, there is an obvious advantage for this farmer to have a relationship that enables him preferential access to a sought out good.

• Preference

In a formal market scenario, purchasing decisions of goods and services by anonymous

BUYERS is strictly based on minimizing costs: the cost of the good itself and the cost of finding die seller. However, when &BUYER develops a preference for a particular seller, his/her cost/benefit calculus has been altered from pure monetary costs to include attributes of the social relationship that supply extra benefit. For example, a farmer has a preference to purchase agrochemicals from the same supplier in Xpujil, as every time he purchases an item, the storeowner gives him technical tips; this information is 'free of charge' and is valued by the farmer. Preference is not based on price, as he will not take the time to 'shop around' for die lowest price, rather the preference is developed from the repeated social interaction that builds trust between die engaged parties. Similar arguments apply for a SELLER. For example a farmer continuously sells his labour services to an individual who resides in a nearby community; the individual recognizes die hard work ethic of die farmer and is willing to pay him a higher day wage dian die going rate. Both parties prefer this work arrangement and therefore, preference is given from bodi sides, the farmer ensures his availability to the individual and the individual prefers die farmer to work on his land.

• Non-monetary arrangements

In a pure market scenario, if an anonymous BUYER does not have access to liquidity or credit opportunities, which is a commonplace scenario in rural areas of developing nations

(Bebbington, 1999), market failure ensues and exchange does not take place. However, non-

92 monetary transactions make it possible for theBUFERtjo participate in economic activity and obtain the good or service desired. For example, a farmer engages in labour sharing with friends and family throughout the growing season of chili; these reciprocal arrangements between farmers allow for extra labour hands when the family labour does not suffice. As long as market failure exists people will engage in non-monetary transactions to conduct economic activity

(Durlauf & Fafchamps, 2004); moreover, the more these informal social arrangements are successful, mutual support develops and these arrangements create informal safety-net mechanisms for individuals (Grootaert, 1997).

Market failure also applies to accessing knowledge (in this study, knowledge is relating to chili farming): in Calakmul, there is no formal market scenario where an anonymous buyer can purchase technical information in order to develop greater efficiency in crop production. Non monetary transactions of knowledge are used extensively in the Calakmul region and this type of exchange enables the flow of advice and teachings of chili farming via personal relationships, group sharing in communities, and participation in government programs.

As a SELLER, the farmer may engage in non-monetary transactions or offer his service, labour, or product for a 'reduced' price and the benefit received is mutual support that he can

'cash' on at a later time.

V.tv. MECHANISMS OF SOCIAL RESOURCES

In this section, I will address HOW social relationships facilitate economic activity, highlighting the mechanisms behind social capital transactions (see Table 13).

23 As mentioned earlier, there is no labour sharing during the Harvest season; at this crucial time, labourers of all ages are paid the fixed day wage. 93 Table 13. Types of Social Mechanisms That Bring About the Social Capital Transactions Social Mechanisms Receiver of benefits Donor of benefits

TRUST individual offers low cost/ credit to the farmer farmer offers low cost/ credit to the individual MEMBERSHIP farmer receives benefits from being a member of a cooperative/society GOVERNMENT farmer engaged in govt program which enables him access to capital and income earning opportunities (information via ejido link) MUTUAL SUPPORT Non-monetary transactions which enable both parties access to resources KEYLLNK farmer has privileged access to key resources and/or new market opportunities INDIRECTACESS farmer receives a favour or a tip from this social link which facilitates access to resources

In some cases, the household mobilizes more than one 'type' of social capital transaction to access a resource & income opportunity. For example, the farmer may access the use of a chainsaw (rent a chainsaw) from a neighbour who lends him the chainsaw free of charge; other times, when the neighbour is working outside of Calakmul and therefore, unable to lend him a chainsaw, the farmer rents a chainsaw from a friend at a discounted rental fee. Here the farmer utilizes two types of social capital transactions to access die same resource. The first type relates to a Mutual support mechanism and die second type mobilizes a Trust mechanism. Therefore, the actual number of social capital transactions for die study sample is 302, where die number of resources and income opportunities accessed via social capital transactions is 274. In this section, I am analyzing die nature of die 302 social capital transactions for die study sample (see

Figure 12.).

94 Figure 12. Distribution of Social Capital Mechanisms Used To Access Resources and Income Opportunities

GOVERNMENT 13%

MUTUALSUPPOKT 38%

Table 14. illustrates the distribution of social capital mechanisms used to access resources and income opportunities for the study. The non-monetary transactions, i.e. use

Mutual Support mechanism, make up 38% (118 out of 302) of the social capital transactions and die remaining 62% involve monetary arrangements: 33% (99 out of 302) use the Trust mechanism; 13% (40 out of 302) use the Government mechanism; 7% (20 out of 202) use the

Member mechanism; 5% (14 out of 302) use the Key Link mechanism; and 4% (11 out of 302) use the Indirect Access mechanism.

Table 14. Distribution of Social Capital Mechanisms For the Two Strategy Groups When Accessing Resources and Income Opportunities Social Capital Mechanisms TOTAL: CAP TRAD GOVERNMENT 40 24 16 INDIRECT ACCESS 11 6 5 KEYLINK 14 7 7 MEMBER 20 16 4 MUTUAL SUPPORT 118 54 64 TRUST 99 53 46 302 160 142

95 There are differences among the Capitalist group and Traditional group regarding strategy type and the reliance on social capital mechanisms to access resources and income opportunities. As mentioned in section one of this chapter, social capital transactions were used to access 143 resources and income opportunities (66% of its total) for the Capitalist group and

131 (68% of its total) for die Traditional group. Examining the nature of the social capital transaction, it was found that for the Capitalist group, 160 social capital transactions were used to access the 143 resources & income opportunities, and for the Traditional group, 142 social capital transactions were used to access the 131 resources & income opportunities.

The reliance on social capital mechanisms differs for each group. The Capitalist group utilizes the Government mechanism more than die Traditional group: 24 compared with 16 social capital transactions. The Capitalist group utilizes the Member mechanism more to access resources and income opportunities: 16 compared with 4 social capital transactions. The

Traditional group uses the Mutual mechanism more than the Capitalist group: 64 compared to

54 social capital transactions. The two groups experienced similar results for the Indirect mechanism: the Capitalist group engaged in 6 and the Traditional group engaged in 5 social capital transactions of this kind. Both strategy groups used the Key Link mechanisms for 7 transactions each.

V.v. SOCIAL CAPITAL MECHANISM AND RESOURCE ACCESSED

In order to understand further how these social capital mechanisms work, die next level of analysis is comparing mechanisms with type of resources accessed (see Table 15.).

96 Table 15. Distribution of Social Capital Mechanisms Among the Strategy Groups According To RANKED Resources and Income Opportunities GOVT INDIRECT KEYLINK MEMBER MUTUAL TRUST ACCESS SUPPORT ISM MINI I'll 1 1 IK ^ l ' u> " 10 2 \ "17 27 IMI'KOMMIM 2d Cap 13 2 2 17 Trad 1 1 1 3 3 9 IMK V l<> Cap 6 2 1 9 Trad 6 1 7 (i » | 31 , , _l i 1 1 l 1 1 1 1

NSSS 12 , » ( I 1 i I.O\ 1 INDIIt \(( km INK Ml MM K Ml II \l IKlsl loi.il 10 loi.il. II im.li 11 loi.il 20 loi.il. ii:t loi.ll')" W± Cap refers to Capitalist group; Trad refers to Traditional group and TOT refers to the TOTAL

For the study sample, there are 194 social capital transactions that access ESSENTIAL resources and income opportunities (see Figure 13.): the Capitalist group use 95 transactions and the Traditional group use 99 transactions. For ESSENTIAL resources and income opportunities, 5 5% (106 out of 194) of these social capital transactions use the Mutual Support mechanism: the Traditional group uses 57 transactions compared to 49 for the Capitalist group.

The Trust mechanism accounts for 27% (53 out of 194) of all social capital transactions for this

ESSENTIAL category; the use of this mechanism is approximately the same for both strategy groups, 26 for the Capitalist group and 27 for the Traditional group. ESSENTIAL resources and income opportunities are also accessed via the Government mechanism; this accounts for

14% (28 out of 194): the Capitalist group mobilizes 18 transactions where as the Traditional group uses 10. Finally, the Indirect Access mechanism and Key Link mechanism each account

97 for approximately 4% of social capital transactions for ESSENTIAL resources and income opportunities. Both strategy groups rely on the Indirect Access mechanism equally: 2 transactions for each group. Only the Traditional group uses the Key Link mechanism for 3 transactions to access ESSENTIAL resources and income opportunities.

Figure 13. Social Capital Mechanisms For ESSENTIAL Resources and Income Opportunities

MUTUAi SUPPORT 55%

For the study sample, there are 26 social capital transactions diat access

IMPROVEMENT in resources and income opportunities (see Figure 14.): the Capitalist group uses 17 transactions while die Traditional group use 9. For the entire sample, 54% (14) of these transactions use Membership mechanism and diere is a great difference in the use of this mechanism between strategy groups: the Capitalist group uses 13 of the 14 transactions and die

Traditional group only uses one transaction of Membership mechanism to access

IMPROVEMENT resources and income opportunities. Mutual Support and Trust mechanisms each have al 9% share of the transactions that facilitate economic activity, 5 transactions each: the Traditional group mobilizes these mechanisms for 6 transactions (3 for Mutual Support and

3 for Trust) and die Capitalist group mobilizes bodi mechanisms equally for 4 transactions. For

98 Indirect Access and Key Link mechanisms, only the Traditional group mobilizes these mechanisms in 2 social capital transactions.

Figure 14. Social Capital Mechanisms For IMPRO\TMENT In Resources and Income Opportunities

INDIRECT ACCESS TRUST 4% 19% \ KEYL1NK 4%

MUTUAL SUPPORT 19% MEMBERSHIP S4%

For the study sample, there are 16 social capital transactions that access EXTRA resources (see Figure 15.): the Capitalist group uses 9 and the Traditional group uses 7 transactions. 75% (12) of these transactions use Government mechanisms: there is an equal use of this mechanism among strategy type. Indirect Access mechanism is used for 2 transactions and the Capitalist group uses this mechanism. For the study sample, one transaction from the

Capitalist group relied on a Mutual support mechanism and one transaction from the Traditional group relied on a Trust mechanism.

Figure 15. Social Capital Mechanisms For EXTRA Resources

MUTUAL SUPPORT 6%

INDIRECT ACCESS 13%

GOVERNMENT 75%

99 For the study sample, there are 40 social capital transactions that access EXTRA $ & $ $ income opportunities (see Figure 16.): the Capitalist group uses 22 and the Traditional group uses 19 transactions. 77% (31) of these transactions use the Trust mechanism: the Capitalist group accesses this mechanism for 17 transactions and the Traditional group for 14. Mutual

Support mechanism is used for 15% (6) of the transactions that facilitate EXTRA income opportunities: 3 transactions for the Capitalist and Traditional group. Each strategy group uses the Key Link mechanism to for one social capital transaction respectively. The Capitalist group uses the Indirect Access mechanism for one transaction.

Figure 16. Social Capital Mechanisms For EXTRA Income Opportunities $ and $ $

INDIRECT ACCESS , KEYUNK 3% I ,..-" 5%

TRUST /' 77%

For the study sample, there are 26 social capital transactions that access EXTRA $$$ &

$$$$ income opportunities (see Figure 17.): the Capitalist group uses 16 transactions and die

Traditional group uses 9. For die entire sample, four social capital mechanisms facilitate these type of transactions: Trust, 34% (9 transactions: die Capitalist group uses 7 and die Traditional group uses 2), Key Link, 31% (8 transactions: Capitalist group uses 6 while the Traditional uses

2), Membership, 23% (6 transactions: 3 for each strategy group) and Indirect Access, 12% (3 transaction: 1 for die Capitalist group and 2 for die Traditional group).

100 Figure 17. Social Capital Mechanisms For EXTRA Income Opportunities $ $ $ and $ $ $ $

INDIRECT ACCESS 12%

MEMBERSHIP 23%

In summary, there are two types of engagement, personal and institutional, that facilitate access to resources and income opportunities by using different social capital mechanisms (see

Table 16.)- The majority of the social capital transactions, 80% (242 out of 302) were done through personal engagement and almost half of these exchanges (48%: 18 out of 242) of these exchanges were facilitated through the Mutual Support Mechanism. This means that 38% of all die social capital transactions diat access resources and income opportunities are conducted through non-monetary arrangements. The Traditional group mobilized 4% more social capital transactions using die Mutual Support Mechanism dian the Capitalist group. Apart from personal engagements, resources were accessed through institutional interactions; 20% (60 out of 302) of all the social capital transactions were facilitated through either a Government or

Membership mechanism. The Capitalist group mobilized die Government and Membership mechanism double as much as die Traditional group.

Table 16. Social Capital Mechanisms According To Type of Engagement and Strategy"~yp e GOVT MEMBER KEY LINK INDIRECT MUTUAL TRUST ACCESS SUPPORT CAPITALIST 24 16 7 6 54 53 160 TRADITIONAL 16 4 7 5 64 46 142 Total: 40 Total: 20 Total: 14 Total: 11 Total: 118 Total: 99 J Institutional fiO Personal , 242 302

101 V.vt. NATURE OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP AND RESOURCE ACCESSED

This section examines the notion "It is not Whatyou. know but Who you know". As discussed in die previous section, die study sample can access resources and income opportunities via personal relationships and institutional relationships, such as government programs, and membership in cooperatives and associations. The Government and Membership mechanism was discussed in the previous section; therefore, this section examines how personal relationships affect die type of resource accessed. I begin by examining the WHO and WHERE qualities of the 'alter' who facilitates economic activity (see Table 17.).

Table 17. Distribution ofthe WHO Among the Study Sample and Strategy Type WHO TOTAL CAPITALIST TRADITIONAL NON-PEASANT 63 25 38 NON-PEASANT OUTSIDE 29 18 11 PEASANT 150 77 73 242 120 122

Personal relationships can be divided into diree categories: PEASANT, who lives in

Calakmul; NON-PEASANT, who lives in Calakmul; and NON-PEASANT_OUTSIDE, who lives outside ofthe Calakmul region (see Figure 18.). There were no contacts noted for peasants outside of Calakmul.

102 Figure 18. The WHO of Personal Social Capital Transactions

NON-PEASANT 26%

PEASANT 62% ' ^tofl^s. NON-PEASANT OUTSIDE 12%

PEASANT personal relationships make up 62% (150 out of 242) of the total social capital transactions that involve personal engagement for the study sample; both types of strategies approximately engage equally in this kind of relationship: the Capitalist group uses 77 transactions and the Traditional group uses 73 PEASANT personal relationships to access resources and income opportunities.

Personal relationships that involve someone 'different' from the farmer make up 38%

(92 out of 242) of the social capital transactions for the study sample: 63 are with a NON-

PEASANT and 29 are with aNON-PEASANT_OUTSIDE. To access resources and opportunities, the Traditional group engages more in NON-PEASANT relationships than the

Capitalist group: 38 to 25. However, the Capitalist group engages more in NON-

PEASANT_OUTSIDE personal relationships than the Traditional group: 18 to 11.

The nature of relationships has different purposes (see Table 18.). For the Outside market, bridging ties link the farmer indirectly to these outside opportunities, whereas direct ties enable the farmer immediate access to outside resources. For the Calakmul market, there are two types of resources and opportunities: KEY, which constitute the categories of ESSENTIAL,

$, and $$; m&ADDITIONAL, which constitute the categories EXTRA, IMPROVEMENT, 103 >. KEYrtsources and opportunities are readily available in the local market, whereas

ADDITIONAL resources and income opportunities are scarce and are more difficult to access.

The type of relationships that facilitate the access toKEYresomces and opportunities are ties that supply mutual support, enable privileged access, and enable direct access to these resources.

The type of relationships that facilitate the access to ADDITIONAL resources and opportunities are ties that enable privileged access and direct access to these resources.

Table 18. Purpose of Relationship According To WHO OUTSIDE market CALAKMUL market KEY ADDITIONAL bridge direct mutual privilege direct privilege direct PEASANT 8 97 35 3 5 148 NONPEASANT 1 15 10 31 1 7 65 NONPEASANT OUT 18 1 8 2 29 18 112 11 74 12 242

The large majority of personal relationships that facilitate social capital transactions are aimed atZKFresources and opportunities: 81% (197 out of 242) followed by, OUTSIDE resources and opportunities [11% (27 out of 242)] and Finally ADDITIONAL resources and opportunities [7% (18 out of 242)] (see Figure 19.). According to type of relationship, nearly half, 48 % (112 out of 242), of the personal social capital transactions are ties that supply mutual support for KEYresources and opportunities; almost a third, 31% (74 out of 242), are ties that enable direct access to tfiese Z^Zresources. For privileged access to KEY and ADDITIONAL resources and opportunities, these type of ties make up respectively, 5% (11 out of 242) and

2%(6 out of 242) of personal social capital transactions; links that enable direct access to

ADDITIONAL resources and opportunities make up 5% (12 out of 242); finally, access to the

Outside market, bridging ties, are 4% of personal social capital transactions (9 out of 242) and direct ties are 7% of social capital transactions( 18 out of 242).

104 Figure 19. Type of Personal Ties For Social Capital Transactions

ADDITIONAL OUTSIDE bridge direct i 4% 5% > ADDITIONAL j / OUTSIDE direct privilege ^^*

KEY direct / juj'V^XP's' y\

\ KEY mutual KEYprivilcge 46% 5%

The next level of analysis is to examine if there is an association between the nature of alter (WHO and WHAT) and the type of resource and opportunity accessed, according to die classification: Outsidejbridge, Outside_direct, ZZ?7_mutual, ZEPlprivileged, ZZ!F_direct,

^4Z?Z)/77(9Ai4Z_privileged, m& ADDITIONAL j&rzct. The most obvious associations are between die nature of the direct ties to Outside resources and opportunities as well as the nature of the mutual support ties to Z£T"resources and income opportunities. One can either have a bridging tie or direct tie to access resources and opportunities in the Outside market. All social capital transactions that facilitate access to the Outside market directly are with non-peasants who live Outside of Calakmul. This finding corresponds with the heterophily principle and assumptions behind sparse networks: the former reveals that by interacting with people who are different than you, you gain access to a different set of resources, while the latter concept states that extensive networks i.e. ones spanning different social circles, enable the ego to be privy to new information and to be in a strategic position to generate benefits from diese outside resources (Burt, 1992; Granovetter, 1983; Lin, 2001).

The second obvious association is between the nature of the mutual support ties that accessZKFresources and income opportunities. For the study sample, 86% (97 out of 112) of 105 the social capital transactions involve personal engagement with Peasants who live in Calakmul.

This finding corresponds with the Homophily principle and assumptions behind dense networks: recall diat die benefits of mutual support in the form of simple and loose reciprocity^ are more likely to occur among people who are similar and live in close proximity to one anodier; as well, dense networks (i.e. ties with people who live in the same area as oneself) have die capacity to foster mutual assistance obligations (Coleman, 1990; Lin, 2001).

Some of the findings appear to be contradictory to die theory of social capital in network research. To access resources in the outside market, the ego can have social ties widi alters who act as abridge to a different source of information and resources than what he/she can access in his /her primary social circle. Therefore, it is assumed that Nonpeasants in Calakmul would be more likely to act as a bridging tie to the farmer to access resources and opportunities in Outside markets. However, the findings show that 8 out of die 9 bridge ties are with Peasants who live in

Calakmul. Moreover, it is assumed that privileged access to ADDITIONAL resources and income opportunities would involve ties with people who are different from the farmers; however the findings indicate that Peasants play an equal role (3 out of 6) in diis type of engagement as die combined effect of Nonpeasants who live in Calakmul and Nonpeasants who live outside (3 out of 6). For privileged access to Z2Tresources and opportunities, relationships with

Nonpeasants in Calakmul play an important role as 10 out of die 11 social capital transactions are of diis nature. In summary, diese seemingly contradictory findings may indicate there is a

An act of simple reciprocity is like a 'chit' system where hoth parties agree on the 'payment' of the exchange where as an act of loose reciprocity, the method of payment is not clearly established; nonetheless, the donourof benefits in this type of exchange is investing in mutual support that he/she can call upon in the future (Portes, 1998; Collier, 1998). 106 wider gradation within the concepts of Peasant and Nonpeasant that reflect their access to resources and information sources.

I began this section by differentiating the WHO among Strategy types. As just discussed, WHO one has a relationship with does not always reflect the type of resource accessed; therefore, a more informative examination is how personal engagement influences the access to different resources. I have already made this distinction with bridging and direct ties for Outside markets, and mutual, privileged, and direct ties for KEl'andADDITIONAL resources and opportunities in the Calakmul market (see Table 19.). The Capitalist group mobilizes bridging ties and direct ties to the Outside market twice as much as the Traditional group: for bridging ties, the Capitalist group uses 6 where the Traditional group uses 3; for direct ties, the Capitalist group uses 12 where the Traditional group uses 6. ForZEZresources and income opportunities, the Traditional group mobilize more social capital transactions than the Capitalist group for all types of ties: the Traditional group access 60 mutual support ties where the Capitalist group access 52; the former access 6 privilege ties where die latter access 5; and the former group access 3 9 direct ties where die latter group access 3 5. Both strategy group access equally (3 each) diose ties that enable privileged access xoADDITONAL resources and income opportunities; however the Capitalist group mobilize more direct ties that access these type of resources than die Traditional group: 7 compared to 5.

Table 19. Purpose of Relationship According To Strategy Type OUTSIDE market CALAKMUL market KEY ADDITIONAL bridge direct mutual privilege direct privilege direct CAPITALIST 6 12 52 5 35 3 7 120 IADITIONAL 3 6 60 6 39 3 5 122 /* 112 11 74 12 242

107 CHAPTER VL CONCLUSION

The broader contextual environment of the study region can be generally described as having weak formal institutions; scarce employment opportunities; isolated markets from communities; and a civil society not well developed. I addressed the following questions that lead me to conclude that in this context, die nature of an individual's social links is one of the factors that shape the economy of practice for rural households.

1. Are social relationships important in accessing capital resources and income earning opportunities?

YES, social relationships play an important role in facilitating economic activity. For the entire sample, social capital transactions facilitated 67% of the total number of resources and income opportunities accessed and [66% for the Capitalist group 68% for the Traditional group]. The overall benefits of social capital transactions compared to pure market transactions are: for the BUYER, lower prices, payment installments of 0% interest, feasible credit opportunities, preferential access, preference, non-monetary arrangements, and mutual support; for the SELLER, greater income earning potential, negotiated higher wages than the 'going rate', secure employment, preferential access, and mutual support.

2. What is the association with the nature of social relationships and the type of resource accessed, i.e. what is the typology of social organizations and mechanisms as a resource in facilitating economic activity?

The study examines how social relationships add benefit to transactions by describing the social mechanisms involved: trust, membership, government, mutual support, key link, and

108 indirect access. There are two types of social engagement, personal and institutional, that facilitate access to resources and income opportunities by using different social capital mechanisms. The majority of the social capital transactions, 80%, were done through personal engagement and 20% were facilitated through some form of institutional arrangement, either a

Government or Membership mechanism. For personal engagement, the nature of tlie relationship was defined as bridging ties to the Outside market, direct ties to the Outside market, ties that enabled privileged access and direct access to KE1'and ADDITIONAL resources and income opportunities in the Calakmul market, and mutual support ties that enabled access to

ZEFresources and opportunities.

3. Does the nature of social resources differ for the economic practices of commercial agriculture versus traditional agriculture?

YES. For institutional engagement, the Capitalist group mobilized the Government mechanism for 24 social capital transactions and the Traditional group mobilized for 16; die Capitalist group mobilized die Membership mechanism for 16 social capital transactions and the

Traditional group for 4. For personal engagement, the Traditional group engaged slighdy more social capital transactions dian the Capitalist group; however, the emphasis on the nature of ties differed. The Capitalist group mobilized twice as much bridge ties and direct ties to the Outside market dian die Traditional group; and die Traditional group mobilized slighdy more mutual support, direct ties and ties that enable privileged access toX£!Fresources and income opportunities in the Calakmul market. The Capitalist group mobilized more direct ties to

ADDITIONAL resources and income opportunities in the Calakmul market.

109 4. Does increased market engagement equate with less reliance on social networks for resources?

NO. The Capitalist group accessed more total resources and income opportunities than the

Traditional group: 217 compared to 192. For the Capitalist group, 143 of the their total were accessed via a social capital transaction and for the Traditional group, 131 of their total were accessed via a social capital transaction. The reliance on social relationships for facilitating economic activity is slightly higher for the Traditional group compared to the Capitalist group:

68 % compared with 66% of total resources and income opportunities accessed.

In conclusion, this investigation contributes to development discourse by illustrating a typology of social organizations as a resource that helps us to understand how social relationships play a role in the functioning of a family farm and how this role changes depending on the organization of productive activities (i.e. economy of practices). From an applied perspective, this information is useful for policymakers to use to create environments that leverage these social resources to promote the well-being of the community and for development practitioners to ensure the effective delivery of funding projects in communities (i.e. resources are being flowed to intended recipients). The results are not definitive, being based on small samples drawn from just two communities. But almost all the results are consistent widi a priori expectations and hence, confirm the theoretical foundations of social capital theory as an important component of development discourse.

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120 APPENDIX Ij Questionnaire of Social Capital Transactions

TITLE OF THE INVESTIGATION: THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN THE CHILI PRODUCTION PROCESS (1/4)

Name of Individual:

Code Individual: Date of Administration: PRODUCTION WHO WHAT WHERE HOW

LAND

SEEDS

AGR0CHEM1CALS

herbicides

pesticides

fertilzers

other

TOOLS

pail

measuring stick

spraypack

WHAT: only business, acquaintance, friend, family; WHERE: Calakmul, outside; HOW: pay in cash, pay in credit, reciprocity, gift, subsidy or right

121 TITLE OFTHE INVESTIGATION: THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN THE CHILI PRODUCTION PROCESS (2/4) PRODUCTION WHO WHAT WHERE HOW

LABOR

MACHINERY

tractor

chainsaw

truck

horse

working oxen

other

KNOWLEDGE

to be farmer

formal assistance

technical

informal assistance technical

WHAT: only business, acquaintance, friend, family; WHERE: Calakmul, outside; HOW: pay in cash, pay in credit, reciprocity, gift, subsidy or right

122 TITLE OF THE INVESTIGATION: THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN THE CHILI PRODUCTION PROCESS (3/4) SELLING WHO WHAT WHERE HOW

fresh chili

dry chili

FINANCES WHO WHAT WHERE HOW

WORK

agriculture work

Calakmul

agriculture work

Outside

non-agriculture work

Calakmul

non-agriculture work

Outside LAND

honey

cattle

corn

wood

WHAT: only business, acquaintance, friend, family; WHERE: Calakmul, outside; HOW: pay in cash, pay in credit, reciprocity, gift, subsidy or right

123 TITLE OFTHE INVESTIGATION: THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS IN THE CHILI PRODUCTION PROCESS (4/4) FINANCES WHO WHAT WHERE HOW

LAND

other

RENT

tractor

truck

chainsaw

horse

other

REMITTANCES

GOVERNMENT

Procampo

Oportunidades

other

WHAT: only business, acquaintance, friend, family; WHERE: Calakmul, Outside; HOW: pay in cash, pay in credit, reciprocity, gift, subsidy or right

124 APPENDIX II: Questionnaire of Household Characteristics

Name Age Sex Civil Relationship with Attend Education Where Month/ year of Birth (yrs) Status head of household School (yrs) one lives arrival in Place (yes/no) Calakmul

125 APPENDIX Hit Field Diary NOTE: * indicate interviews conducted with Antonio in Las Carmelas; I have blocked the family names of all the people I spoke with. Interviewee Hour Where (hr) Who Received Consequence Who was Comments Me of meeting present during interview Y>.\\ 1 Ihursdiij Juh. 13 Zenaido 1945 community D him bumped into D I was with Natalie store organized when we saw him date Zenaido 2000 house 2 him date his wife and excellent person for —in (yes show) two my first interview -1 daughters felt very comfortable • with him l)\Y2 IruUJiiK.I I Miguel 1515 house D wife return D She said that —front yard tomorrow (Saturday) I could findhi m at 1430 and that she would notify him in advance that I had dropped by. Elias^^l| 1530 house D him organized D We arranged a time —front yard date for the next day at 0900 Alvino 1545 house D wife organized The wife said that he —front date would be willing to door participate and that I can conduct the interview at 1600 tommorrow (for certain he will be there then) Enrique 1600 house 1.5 him date family Good time; talked —in (yes show) freely after the questionnaire was over; spoke some with his wife - she makes sweaters German 1815 community D him organized - With Natalie; she store date spoke widi Don German 1830 street D him bumped into With Natalie; she —organized initiated die • date conversation Adrian 1830 street D him bumped into With Natalie; she —organized initiated the date conversation

126 Interviewee Hour Where (hr) Who Received Consequence Who was Comments Me ofmeeting present during interview Leonardo 1845 street 0 him He seemed a bit bumped into reluctant but Natalie ™ —organized persuaded him to date participate (come on Tio...) German 1900 house 2 him date his wife Good time; Invited —in (yes show) me for dinner; all • three spoke freely after invterview DO J Sauirriiiijuh. 1"> Elias ^^| 0900 house 1.5 him date family Good time; spoke —in (yes show) freely after interview - he was interested about knowing more about Canadian financial support for reforestation projects Adrian 1200 house 1.25 him 'date his family was *Natalie had —in (yes show) in the next arranged the date; room good time; he — offered me some avocados Jorge 1400 house D wife •date 'Natalie had —in (no show) arranged the date; —return his wife said she didnt know when he would return Miguel 1415 house D wife return wife said that she —front yard (no show) had spoken with him - and he would be organizedate able to participate in an interview tommorrow at 1700 Alvino 1600 house D wife date She said he would —backyard (no show) be in the house later —return in die evening; she was apologetic dtat he wasnt there Adrian 1800 house 1.5 him date family Good time; —in (yes show)

Leonardo 1930 house D wife date he was away —front (no show) hunting, she said " door —return tommorrow he should be in

127 Interviewee Hour Where (hr) Who Received Consequence Who was Comments Me of meeting present during interview Alvino 2100 house • him found person a full house of family —in —organized (children and date grandchildren visiting) watching T.V.; welcomed me into their home, Don Alvino was friendly; organized date for next morning inw SumiJB^tcr Oscar 0800 house 1 him 'date no one 'Natalie had —frontyard (yes show) (family inside arranged the house) meeting, good time - he was up early because he and his family were getting ready to go to church (in die next community) Alvino 0910 house 1.5 him date family (inside Good time - he was —frontyard (yes show) and outside of waiting for me when house) I arrived, spoke freely Regulo 1200 house 1.5 him 'date along (family 'Natalie had -frontyard (yes show) inside house) arranged the meeting; good time; spoke of his trip to Canada in a few months - to participate in apiculture courses Alfonso 1400 house D wife 'date 'Natalie had —front dorr (no show) arranged die —return meeting; wife said he was at the cantina, she said he would be in later Florencio 1415 house 1.5 him "date his eldest * Natalie had —in (yes show) daughter and arranged the his grandson meeting for 1600 but I went to the house earlier and he agreed to talk to me then - good time

128 Interviewee Hour Where (hr) Who Received Consequence Who was Comments Me of meeting present during interview Miguel 1700 house D wife date he was there but did —yard (NO) not come out of the house; the wife said he had changed his mind and didntwant to participate in the study Leornado 1710 house D wife Person not He was away from —front yard found the community, I did not return to the house Rodriffo 1900 house 1.5 him date Natalie, his Good time; Natalie —front (yes show) friend Don was with me -1 didnt porch Adrian feel comfortable Aguilar being alone widi him; later Don Adrian Aguilar del Valle stopped by and sat on the porch; at the end he was excellent to talk with Pedro 2045 community D wife organized We (Natalie and I) store date spoke with wife - said that tommorrow around 2000 would be a good time to talk to him I) AYS Momlai July. 17 Alfonso 1530 house D him found person - We organized to —front —organized meet the next day at door date 1600 Aurelio 1600 house 1.25 him *date family * Natalie had —in (yes show) arranged the meeting; good time -he just returned from die fieldan d was relaxing 1730 house 1.25 him *date children * Natalie had —front (yes show) arranged the JL porch meeting, good time Eleuterio 1900 house 2 him 'date family * Natalie arranged —in (yes show) meeting; interested in finding out information about Canadian support for reforestation projects

129 Interviewee Hour Where (hr) Who Received Consequence Who was Comments Me of meeting present during interview Pedro 2115 community 0 daughter date *I spoke with the store (too late) daughter briefly but she was busy with customers, I was not able to speak with Don Pedro DAY" 6 TucsdnjJuK, 18 Pedro 1400 community D him found person I apologized saying store —organized that I thought it was date too late to talk the night before, he agreed to meet with me later on diat same day Alfonso 1600 house 1.25 him date family Good time; —in (yes show)

Joi'KC^^w I 1800 house 1.5 him *date family 'Natalie had —in (yes show) arranged the meeting; good time; his father-in-law entered die house midway of the interview, after him and I spoke freely, he wanted to know what kind of support (in programs) does Canada offer to the communities Pedro 2000 house 2.5 him date his wife we spoke freely and —in (yes show) he was excellent in • describing how things worked

l)A\ 7 Wednesday Juh. 19 Went to the Las Carmelas with Francisco and group; met with Don Alfredo, the taxist a and his daugl iter said she would help me locate the people; organized a time to meet: 1000 tomorrow ::DAI8_ - ,.-•.--. , -. ' ': -J? r .:.. r--.^.i-:.z - : ---v y-;: *Bmtiivhbl*~ Juan 1100 house • him found person he was getting ready —front yard -organized to leave, he said we • date could talk around 1400 Bartolo 1130 house D wife/daughter return wife spoke minimal —front Spanish, daughter • door said her father would be home in die evening

130 Interviewee Hour Where (fir) Who Received Consequence Who was Comments Me of meeting present during interview Fernando 1145 house D wife/daughter return wife could not speak —front Spanish very well, door the daughter told me • that her father would be home in the evening Jorge^H 1200 house 1.25 him found person family Good time; he —in YES welcomed me into his home Nicholas 1350 street D him bumped into he was going home —organized from being in date working in the field; he said that I could drop by his house after I was done with the interview widi Don Juan Lopez Torres Juan 1400 house 2 him date family Good time; it was —in (yes show) raining hard so I stayed longer to • avoid the rain; him, his friend, and I spoke freely Nicholas 1615 house 1 him date family Good time • —in (yes show)

Nicholas 1800 house 1 him found person family Good time; Don —in YES Nicholas spoke m Spanish but a tutor would have been helpful - a few times I had to repeat the question Joselino 1915 store D him bumped into He was talking witfi —in front of —organized Don Diego; we date decided to meet tommorrow at the store (he is the owner) at 1500 Diego 1915 store D him bumped into with Don Joselino; —in front of —organized we decided to meet date tommorrow at his house at 1400

131 Interviewee Hour Where (hr) Who Received Consequence Who was Comments Me of meeting present during interview

mv> i ii 21 Bartolo 1245 him found person He is a taxi driver NO and no longer plants chile. Fernando 1300 house 1 him found person family Good time - he just — in YES returned from the working in the field; • the children were curious with my writing, were looking over my shoulder Diego 1410 house D no one return - I called out "Buenos —front gate dias" but no one answered Joselino 1415 store 1.75 him date Good time - a quiet (yes show) time so hardly no one showed, there • were three kids playing video games; a friend stopped by to buy something and Don Joselino, him and I spoke freely Diego 1630 house D wife? not found wife told me that he —front gate person wasnothome, and didnt know when he would arrive Francisco 1700 house D him found person was not interested. -front gate NO He said he was not going to give any • information and less to someone who is a foreigner Felipe 1715 house 1.5 him found person two sons, Good time; the —front yard YES grandaughter eldest son spoke extensively about their spiritual beliefs and practice Domingo 1930 store D him found person Not good time - he NO was attending die store; he said he had no time-NOT interested Ernesto 2000 House 1 him Found family Good time —front yard person YES

132 Interviewee Hour Where (hr) Who Received Consequence Who was Comments Me of meeting present during interview

DAY 10 Saturday Juh 22 *Jose 1730 house <1 him found person son •Antonio —front yard YES •Antonio accompanied me to ask if they wanted to • participate; good time; son and father both spoke •Carlos 1835 street 1.25 him bumped into alone Good time; at first -YES •Antonio no so endiusiastic but after we spoke freely •Mariano 1945 house 1 him found person Family Good time; offered —in NO •Antonio me posole (brother ofAntonio) •Jose Ortiz 2100 house 0.75 him found person Family Good time; Antonio —in YES •Antonio translated quite a bit; in his house with his family •Jose 2145 house 1.25 him found person alone we conducted the —inside of YES interview outside in school front of the school • (he was acting as el guardia), his family and Antonio were inside the school ; J •IMyit&r>7-*-;-: ••:.- - - -.-.-•- ;.

133 APPENDIX IV: Lessons Learned in the Field

Theme Problems encountered How I adjusted Lessons Learned Organizing There was a No show when The next time that I would It is best to speak to the head dates dates was organized with the find die wife, I would ask of the household personally wife when die head of die house when I want to organize a time hold could be found instead of for die interview trying to make a date with the wife. Uncomfortable I organized an interview with To avoid being alone with him Non family members could with someone who made me a bit for the interview, I asked if have an influence on the Interviewee uncomfortable die first time I Natalie could be present while behaviour of the interviewee. met him - he made certain I was interviewing him. It is best if possible to limit comments that made me feel the attendance on the uneasy to be with him alone. (created another situation - interview to only family Also, I knew that there was look to the next problem) members. Also, at die end, he not going to be any family was excellent to talk to - don't present because his wife and judge someone so quickly. children do not live widi him. Who is present For almost all of my I tried to demonstrate that I It would have been best to in the interviews, there were family what I was asking needed have the interview with just interview/ members present - which I serious answers. When I myself and the interviewee, in Tone of the think is positive because it asked him specific questions, an open space (we did speak interview creates a relaxed atmosphere. he lost his jokiness, and gave in on his front porch). As However, for one interview in meagreatdealof well, I learned the tone of how Cristobal Colon, I asked information. He became I conduct the interview Natalie to be present. She did interested in giving me influences die responses of not say anything during die information. the interviewee - if I whole process but her demonstrate that I am truly presence affected the way that interested in listening to die the interviewee responded the information given, I found questions. Particularly, when that the interviewees are more his friend (someone who I willing to speak freely and interviewed the day earlier) give honest answers popped by and sat in about midway of the interview, the interviewee's tone became more joking.

My When I introduced myself, I I shortened my introduction If the first introduction to die introduction noticed that people were not to: person is too long, diey will interested in knowing the "I am a student doing a study not be interested in details of my study in the community. Would you participating. It is best to — At first, when I introduced like to answer a few questions make it short, simple, but my self to the people, I diat will take about 45 accurate. Almost all of my explained what my research minutes?" interviewees asked me, once was about: "I am from the interview was done, what Canada and I am doing my is the purpose of my study. master's thesis with ECOSUR This is an opportunity for me in Campeche. My to explain in detail why I am investigation is aboout how interested in looking at what I

134 Theme Problems encountered How I adjusted Lessons Learned My CONT'D CONT'D introduction social relationships influence am examining - in words that the economy of the are comprehendible by them. household. I would like to know if you are interested in participating in my study. I have a questionnare that will take approximately 45 minutes".... waytoo long. People I had two encounters that the I met a Antonio (late 20s) who In the first community, declining person I spoke with said NO grew up in die community but Cristobal Colon, I had the to participate in my study. I who is now working in assistance of Natalie. She not felt that this was going to be a Campeche as a secondary only showed me where people recurring theme. It was schoolteacher. He knows lived, but she introduced me people who relatively had everybody in the town but is to people, and I would explain more resources than others removed enough to not about my study and ask if they who were not willing to complicate the dynamics so would like to participate. Her participate. much: (it has been over 10 presence, I believe, helped me years since he has lived in the out enormously because community, and he comes immediately people gained about once or twice a year for confidence because I was with about a week to visit his uncle her. I believe it essentially to and aunt). To have an have someone from the introduction to the people, I community to introduce you asked him if he could to the people - just for that accompany me to the introduction it is crucial. It is interviews. not necessary for the person to accompany you during die interviews, unless they are acting like a translator, and in the case of Antonio, there was one case where it was necessary for him to translate. Translator I did not need a translator for I had to be attentive of the It is best to have a translator Cristobal Colon. Even answers given, and cross (ideally from another diough the majority of the check by asking die question community) when interacting people in Las Carmelas speak in a different way. The few with people whose first Choi, I thought I would be times there was a confusion, language is not Spanish (as okay without a translator. In when I adjusted the way I was the case in Las Carmelas). one interview, with an older proposed the question, he gendeman, a few times his responded quickly with the answers indicated that he appropriate answer. didn't understand die question

135